Honokiol/Pluronic F-127 Micelles: Preparation and Its in Vitro Anti-tumor Study

OBJECTIVE To develop a novel honokiol loaded pluronic F-127 micelles formulation to improve its anti-tumor capacity. METHODS Honokiol loaded pluronic F-127 micelles was developed by a self-assemble method. The developed honokiol micelles was characterized by TEM and DLS. Drug loading capacity and encapsulation effciency were measured by UV-IS spectroscopy. In vitro release of honokiol from pluronic F-127 micelles was performed in PBS solution at 37 ℃. In vitro cytotoxicity of honokiol micelles against BGC-823 cell lines was detected by MTT assay. RESULTS The developed honokiol loaded pluronic F-127 micelles with core-shell structure had mean diameter of 20-30 nm. With the increase of honokiol/pluronic F-127 feed ratio from 1∶10 to 1∶2.5, the drug loading capacity increased from (8.4±1.6)% to (25.7±2.7)% accordingly, while drug encapsulation efficiency reached nearly 97%. In vitro cytotoxicity test indicated that the developed honokiol micelles showed higher cytotoxicity against BGC-823 cells with respect to honokiol solution. CONCLUSION The developed honokiol loaded pluronic F-127 micelles is a novel honokiol nano-formualtion, that can effciently improve its anti-tumor capacity.