Preparation of imatinib base loaded human serum albumin for application in the treatment of glioblastoma

Abstract

Imatinib is a useful drug for inhibiting some receptors such as c-Kit and PDGFRs which are overexpressed in glioblastoma. However, imatinib is easily effluxed by the proteins of endothelial cells. The aim of this work was to synthesize an imatinib base (IMTb) in the nanoscale and also investigate the amount of its loading into human serum albumin (HSA) nanoparticles. A desolvation method was used to synthesize IMTb loaded HSA with a mean size about 80–90 nm. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) demonstrated that the non-covalent interactions between IMTb and HSA could not affect the chemical structure of IMTb. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) analysis indicated the amorphous form of IMTb in the HSA nanoparticles. Moreover, the encapsulation efficiency and drug loading capacity were found to be 98% and 6.9%, respectively. The obtained results also exhibited that IMTb loaded HSA and free IMTb at a concentration of 40 μg ml⁻¹ had an approximately 90% and 55% cytotoxicity effect on U87MG glioblastoma cells, respectively. Therefore, IMTb loaded HSA nanoparticles can be introduced as a potential candidate for drug delivery in the treatment of glioblastoma.