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.
Background: Seaweed polysaccharides are an underutilized category of marine biopolymers that possess remarkable promise for applications in anticancer medication delivery. Present single-polymer nanocarrier systems have constraints in drug loading, release kinetics, and therapeutic efficacy.
Objective: We created new hybrid nanoparticles by mixing agar with chitosan via ionic gelation. A 3 factorial design refined formulation parameters (polymer ratio, crosslinker concentration, and drug loading) for the encapsulation of tamoxifen citrate.
Methods: 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-231).
Results: Hybrid agar:chitosan (2:1) nanoparticles had a size of 190.1 ± 4.2 nm, 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 ± 0.2 μM (MCF-7) and 4.8 ± 0.6 μM (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 RP, Muruganantham V, Margret Chandira R. 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): 711-723. DOI: 10.25258/ijddt.16.2.76
Source of support: Nil.
Conflict of interest: None