Novel curcumin nanocarrier for targeting drug delivery of mitochondria proves efficacy in in vivo experiments on hepatocellular carcinoma mice models.

ABSTRACT: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains difficult to treat due to systemic toxicity of non-selective therapies. To address this, we hypothesized that targeting the highly active mitochondria of cancer cells, which have considerably increased membrane potential compared with normal cells, could be a promising approach to induce a stronger anticancer effect. Here, we report a curcumin nanocarrier (TDC) synthesized by modifying PAMAM G4 dendrimers with triphenylphosphonium (TPP). This design enables mitochondrial targeting, leveraging the elevated membrane potential of cancer cells to enhance curcumin's anticancer activity. According to the results, the TDC influences the secreted levels of INF-γ and IL-4 on tumor lysis-stimulated splenocytes. In tumor-positive groups, TDC also increased cell

SUBMITTER: Kianamiri S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12508462 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature