Nano-Tetrandrine Efficiently Inhibits the Proliferation and Induces the Apoptosis of Hep2 Cells through a Mitochondrial Signaling Pathway

Tetrandrine (Ted) has been demonstrated in a series of studies to have potential antitumor effect against several cancers. Its lipophilicity makes it an ideal model drug for nanoparticle encapsulation. We constructed Ted loaded nanoparticles (Ted-NP) with PLGA-PEG as drug carrier. Characterization of the nanoparticles showed that Ted-NP had a size of less than 100 nm and a slight negative surface charge. By adjusting the feeding ratio, the highest drug loading content and encapsulation efficiency were 13.6% and 87.2%, respectively. In vitro release indicated the sustained release pattern of Ted-NP. In vitro cytotoxicity test demonstrated that Ted-NP showed stronger cell growth inhibitory effect than free Ted did at equivalent doses. The antitumor effect was mediated by induction of apoptosis through a mitochondrial way. Therefore, the characteristic of amphiphilic copolymer based drug delivery system enables a more efficient way to deliver Ted for cancer treatment.