Preparation, characterization, and cytotoxicity evaluation of self-assembled nanoparticles of diosgenin-cytarabine conjugate

Diosgenin (DG) isolated from yam roots revealed various bioactivities and applications as drug carrier. In the present study, a conjugate of DG with cytarabine (Ara-C) was used to prepare the self-assembled nanoparticles (NPs) of DG-Ara-C by a nanoprecipitation method. Dynamic light scattering (DLS) as well as transmission electron microscopy (TEM) were employed to analyze the size and the morphology of NPs, respectively. The stability and absorption of DG-Ara-C NPs were measured. Additionally, the cytotoxicity of the NPs was determined via MTT assay. The results indicated that the average particle size of DG-Ara-C NPs was around 190 nm with a narrow size distribution (PDI = 0.1). TEM showed that DG-Ara-C NPs had a spherical morphology. Compared to free DG or Ara-C, the self-assembled DG-Ara-C NPs exhibited a better anti-tumor activity against solid tumor cells as well as leukemia cells. In conclusion, DG possesses dual role in the self-assembled NPs of DG-Ara-C conjugate, being as a promising anticancer drug and drug carrier.