Repurposing Ropinirole HCl for Targeting Breast Cancer: Preparation and Characterization of Liposomal Formulation Based on QBD Approach
Sebastine Chinnamma A, Mohamed Zerein Fathima M*
School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Vels Institute of Science Technology and Advance Studies(VISTAS), Pallavaram, Chennai, India
Received: 15th Feb, 2025; Revised: 16th Apr, 2025; Accepted: 4th May, 2025; Available Online: 25th Jun, 2025
ABSTRACT
Breast cancer remains a leading cause of cancer-related mortality worldwide, necessitating the development of novel therapeutic strategies. Ropinirole HCl, a dopamine receptor agonist primarily used for Parkinson's disease, has shown potential anticancer activity by modulating dopamine receptors, inhibiting angiogenesis, and inducing apoptosis in breast cancer cells. This study aims to formulate and optimize a liposomal delivery system for Ropinirole HCl using the Quality by Design (QbD) approach. A Box-Behnken design was employed to evaluate the effects of lipid concentration, stabilizer concentration, and homogenization speed on critical quality attributes, including particle size, zeta potential, and polydispersity index (PDI). The ideal combination (F12) was 75.8 nm in size, -38.6 mV in surface charge, and 0.559 in PDI, meaning that it is more stable and more suitable as a targeted drug carrier. These findings indicate the fact that liposomal Ropinirole HCl can become an excellent method of breast cancer treatment.
Keywords: Ropinirole HCl, Breast Cancer, Preparation, Characterization, Liposomal, QbD Approach
How to cite this article: Sebastine Chinnamma A, Mohamed Zerein Fathima M. Repurposing Ropinirole HCl for Targeting Breast Cancer: Preparation and Characterization of Liposomal Formulation Based on QBD Approach International Journal of Drug Delivery Technology. 2025;15(2):735-47. doi: 10.25258/ijddt.15.2.47
REFERENCES
- Rymbai E, Sugumar D, Krishnamurthy PT, Selvaraj D, Vasu S, Priya S, Jayaram S. A preliminary study to identify existing drugs for potential repurposing in breast cancer based on side effect profile. Drug Res (Stuttg). 2023;73(5):296–303. doi: 10.1055/a-2011-5662.
- Malik JA, Ahmed S, Jan B, Bender O, Al Hagbani T, Alqarni A, Anwar S. Drugs repurposed: An advanced step towards the treatment of breast cancer and associated challenges. Biomed Pharmacother. 2022;145:112375. doi: 10.1016/j.biopha.2021.112375.
- Rymbai E, Sugumar D, Saravanan J, Divakar S. Ropinirole, a potential drug for systematic repositioning based on side effect profile for management and treatment of breast cancer. Med Hypotheses. 2020;144:110156. doi: 10.1016/j.mehy.2020.110156.
- Chakkittukandiyil A, Chakraborty S, Kothandan R, Rymbai E, Muthu SK, Vasu S, Sajini DV, Sugumar D, Mohammad ZB, Jayaram S, Rajagopal K, Ramachandran V, Selvaraj D. Side effects based network construction and drug repositioning of ropinirole as a potential molecule for Alzheimer's disease: an in-silico, in-vitro, and in-vivo study. J Biomol Struct Dyn. 2024;42(20):10785–10799. doi: 10.1080/07391102.2023.2258968.
- Park JW. Liposome-based drug delivery in breast cancer treatment. Breast Cancer Res. 2002;4(3):95–99. doi: 10.1186/bcr432.
- Yang B, Song BP, Shankar S, Guller A, Deng W. Recent advances in liposome formulations for breast cancer therapeutics. Cell Mol Life Sci. 2021;78(13):5225–5243. doi: 10.1007/s00018-021-03850-6.
- Dos Reis LR, Luiz MT, Sábio RM, Marena GD, Di Filippo LD, Duarte JL, Souza Fernandes L, Sousa Araújo VH, Oliveira Silva VA, Chorilli M. Design of rapamycin and resveratrol coloaded liposomal formulation for breast cancer therapy. Nanomedicine (Lond). 2023;18(10):789–801. doi: 10.2217/nnm-2022-0227.
- Gkionis L, Campbell RA, Aojula H, Harris LK, Tirella A. Manufacturing drug co-loaded liposomal formulations targeting breast cancer: Influence of preparative method on liposomes characteristics and in vitro toxicity. Int J Pharm. 2020;590:119926. doi: 10.1016/j.ijpharm.2020.119926.
- Lombardo D, Kiselev MA. Methods of Liposomes Preparation: Formation and Control Factors of Versatile Nanocarriers for Biomedical and Nanomedicine Application. 2022;14(3):543. doi: 10.3390/pharmaceutics14030543.
- Vozgirdaite D, Hervé-Aubert K, Uzbekov R, Chourpa I, Allard-Vannier E. Design, optimization, characterization, and in vitro evaluation of metformin-loaded liposomes for triple negative breast cancer treatment. J Liposome Res. 2024;34(4):547–561. doi: 10.1080/08982104.2024.2321528.
- Wang T, Kulkarni N, Bedi D, D'Souza GG, Papahadjopoulos-Sternberg B, Petrenko VA, Torchilin VP. In vitro optimization of liposomal nanocarriers prepared from breast tumor cell specific phage fusion protein. J Drug Target. 2011;19(8):597–605. doi: 10.3109/1061186X.
- Kurmi BD, Paliwal SR. Development and optimization of TPGS-based stealth liposome of doxorubicin using Box-Behnken design: characterization, hemocompatibility, and cytotoxicity evaluation in breast cancer cells. J Liposome Res. 2022;32(2):129–145. doi: 10.1080/08982104.2021.1903034.
- Bhargav E, Mohammed N, Singh UN, Ramalingam P, Challa RR, Vallamkonda B, Ahmad SF, Dsnbk P, Pasala PK, Rudrapal M. A central composite design-based targeted quercetin nanoliposomal formulation: Optimization and cytotoxic studies on MCF-7 breast cancer cell lines. 2024;10(17):e37430. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e37430.
- Shete Y, Pimpodkar N, Nalawade RS, Pore YV, Kuchekar BS. Spectrophotometric estimation of ropinirole hydrochloride in tablets. Indian J Pharm Sci. 2009;71(1):61–62. doi: 10.4103/0250-474X.51962.
- Chadha R, Bhandari S. Drug-excipient compatibility screening--role of thermoanalytical and spectroscopic techniques. J Pharm Biomed Anal. 2014;87:82–97. doi: 10.1016/j.jpba.2013.06.016.
- Fan Y, Marioli M, Zhang K. Analytical characterization of liposomes and other lipid nanoparticles for drug delivery. J Pharm Biomed Anal. 2021;192:113642. doi: 10.1016/j.jpba.2020.113642.
- Giordani S, Marassi V, Zattoni A, Roda B, Reschiglian P. Liposomes characterization for market approval as pharmaceutical products: Analytical methods, guidelines and standardized protocols. J Pharm Biomed Anal. 2023;236:115751. doi: 10.1016/j.jpba.2023.115751.
- Kheoane PS, Enslin GM, Tarirai C. Formulation and characterization of liposomes containing drug absorption enhancers for optimized anti-HIV and antimalarial drug delivery. Drug Deliv Transl Res. 2023;13(5):1358–1371. doi: 10.1007/s13346-022-01264-w.
- Castañeda-Reyes ED, Perea-Flores MJ, Davila-Ortiz G, Lee Y, Gonzalez de Mejia E. Development, Characterization and Use of Liposomes as Amphipathic Transporters of Bioactive Compounds for Melanoma Treatment and Reduction of Skin Inflammation: A Review. Int J Nanomedicine. 2020;15:7627–7650. doi: 10.2147/IJN.S263516.
- Ruozi B, Belletti D, Tombesi A, Tosi G, Bondioli L, Forni F, Vandelli MA. AFM, ESEM, TEM, and CLSM in liposomal characterization: a comparative study. Int J Nanomedicine. 2011;6:557–563. doi: 10.2147/IJN.S14615.
- Baxa U. Imaging of Liposomes by Transmission Electron Microscopy. Methods Mol Biol. 2018;1682:73–88. doi: 10.1007/978-1-4939-7352-1_8.