Synthesis of glycyrrhetinic acid-modified liposomes to deliver Murrayafoline A for treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma

Hepatocellular carcinoma is a common type of cancer associated with a high mortality rate. Among several bioactive compounds, Murrayafoline A (MuA) has been proved as a bio substance that exhibits great potentials in treating liver cancer. In order to overcome the high cytotoxicity and low solubility of MuA, a delivery system based on nanocarriers is necessary to deliver MuA towards the desired target. In the present study, 18β-glycyrrhetinic acid (GA), which is known as a ligand for liver targeting, was used to construct the cholesterol-poly (ethylene glycol)-glycyrrhetinic acid (GA-PEG-Chol) conjugate and liposome for MuA administration. The compound was then examined for therapeutic efficacy and safety in HUVEC and HepG2 cells in 2D and 3D cell cultures. Results have shown that MuA-loaded liposomes had IC50 value of 2 µM in HepG2 and had the cytosolic absorption of 8.83 ± 0.97 ng/105 cells, while The IC50 value of MuA-loaded liposomes in HUVEC cell lines was 15 µM and the the cytosolic absorption was recorded as 3.62 ± 0.61 cells. The drug test on the 3D cancer sphere platform of the HepG2 cancer sphere showed that MuA-loaded GA liposomes had the highest efficacy at a concentration of 100 µg/mL. In short, these results suggest that MuA-loaded GA liposomes have the potential for maintenance drug delivery and liver targeting.