1Research Scholar, Vinayaka Mission College of Pharmacy, Vinayaka Mission's Research Foundation (Deemed to be University), NH47, Sankari Main Road, Salem – 636 308, Tamil Nadu, India.
2Professor, Department of Pharmaceutics, Vinayaka Mission College of Pharmacy, Vinayaka Mission's Research Foundation (Deemed to be University), NH47, Sankari Main Road, Salem – 636 308, Tamil Nadu, India.
3Professor & HOD, Department of Pharmaceutics, Vinayaka Mission College of Pharmacy, Vinayaka Mission's Research Foundation (Deemed to be University), NH47, Sankari Main Road, Salem – 636 308, Tamil Nadu, India.
Received: 16th Dec, 2025; Revised: 8th Feb 2026; Accepted: 12th Feb, 2026; Available Online: 28th Feb, 2026
Background: Seaweed polysaccharides are an underutilized category of marine biopolymers that possess remarkable promise for applications in anticancer medication delivery [1]. Present single-polymer nanocarrier systems have constraints in drug loading, release kinetics, and therapeutic efficacy [2]. We created new hybrid nanoparticles by mixing agar with chitosan via ionic gelation [3]. A 3 factorial design refined formulation parameters (polymer ratio, crosslinker concentration, and drug loading) for the encapsulation of tamoxifen citrate. We used TEM, FTIR, and release kinetics to fully characterize the samples. The anticancer efficacy was assessed utilizing breast cancer cell lines (MCF-7 and MDA-MB-23).
Result: Hybrid agar: chitosan (2:1) nanoparticles had a size of 190.1 ± 4.2nm, zeta potential was found to be +22.0 ± 1.8 mV, an encapsulation efficiency of 76.4 ± 2.1%, and the drug release was still pH-responsive. In vitro experiments showed that tamoxifen-loaded nanoparticles were 2–3 times more hazardous than free medicines, with IC₅₀ values of 2.0 ± 0.2μM (MCF:7) and 4.8 ± 0.6 (MDA:MB-231). Mechanistic investigations demonstrated increased apoptosis induction and reduced cell migration.
Conclusion: The agar-chitosan hybrid polysaccharide nanoparticle platform opens a transformative advancement towards sustainable, biocompatible nanocarriers exhibiting excellent therapeutic efficacy relative to traditional synthetic polymers.
Keywords: Seaweed polysaccharides, nanoparticles, anticancer medication delivery, experimental design, agar, hybrid nanocarriers
How to cite this article: Ramkumar R P, V Muruganantham and R Margret Chandira, Designing and Evaluation of New Hybrid Seaweed Polysaccharide -Based Nanoparticles to Improve the Delivery of Anticancer Drugs: A Design of Experiments Approach. Int J Drug Deliv Technol. 2026; 16(2): 223-235; DOI: 10.25258/ijddt.16.2.26
Source of support: Nil.
Conflict of interest: None