Macromolecular design of folic acid functionalized amylopectin–albumin core–shell nanogels for improved physiological stability and colon cancer cell targeted delivery of curcumin

Folate-modified carboxymethyl chitosan-based drug delivery system for breast cancer specific combination therapy via regulating mitochondrial calcium concentration

Although various drug delivery systems that regulated Ca2+ concentration has been developed for tumor therapy, their application still presented significant challenges due to the complex preparation and introduction of a large number of inorganic molecules that might cause serious toxic effects. To solve these problems, a folate-functionalized carboxymethyl chitosan (CMCS)/calcium phosphate hybrid nanoparticle (CF/CaP) with Ca2+ production was designed to treat breast cancer combined with the Ca2+ inhibitory effect of encapsulated curcumin (Cur). It was demonstrated that the optimal CF/CaP nanoparticles loaded with Cur (C@CF/CaP) were spherical nanoparticles, which exhibited a smaller size at about 179 nm than non-targeted nanoparticles with size at about 234 nm. C@CF/CaP had good biocompatibility, high stability and acid responsive drug release. Compared with the neutral environment, the cumulative release of Cur was >70 % after culture for 36 h at pH 5.0. Compared with non-targeted nanoparticles, C@CF/CaP could specifically target tumor tissues and then enter tumor cells through folate receptor-mediated endocytosis. C@CF/CaP could cause mitochondrial Ca2+ overload, trigger the mitochondrial apoptotic pathway, destroy the mitochondrial structure and finally have good anti-tumor efficiency. The results proved that Ca2+ nanomodulators based on CMCS might provide a potential organelle targeting strategy for cancer therapy.

Nanotechnology and curcumin: a novel and promising approach in digestive cancer therapy

This study reviews the application of nanotechnology and curcumin, a polyphenol extracted from turmeric, in treating digestive cancers, one of the most common types of malignancies worldwide. Despite curcumin's potential for inhibiting tumor growth, its clinical application is hindered by issues such as poor solubility and bioavailability. Nanomedicine, with its unique ability to enhance drug delivery and reduce toxicity, offers a solution to these limitations. The paper focuses on the development of nanoformulations of curcumin, such as nanoparticles and liposomes, that improve its bioavailability and efficacy in treating digestive cancers, including liver and colorectal cancers. The study serves as a valuable reference for future research and development in this promising therapeutic approach.

Stimuli-Responsive and Multifunctional Nanogels in Drug Delivery

Nanogels represent promising drug delivery systems in the biomedical field, designed to overcome challenges associated with standard treatment approaches. Stimuli-responsive nanogels, often referred to as intelligent materials, have garnered significant attention for their potential to enhance control over properties such as drug release and targeting. Furthermore, researchers have recently explored the application of nanogels in diverse sectors beyond biomedicine including sensing materials, catalysts, or adsorbents for environmental applications. However, to fully harness their potential as practical delivery systems, further research is required to better understand their pharmacokinetic behaviour, interactions between nanogels and bio distributions, as well as toxicities. One promising future application of stimuli-responsive multifunctional nanogels is their use as delivery agents in cancer treatment, offering an alternative to overcome the challenges with conventional approaches. This review discusses various synthetic methods employed in developing nanogels as efficient carriers for drug delivery in cancer treatment. The investigations explore, the key aspects of nanogels, including their multifunctionality and stimuli-responsive properties, as well as associated toxicity concerns. The discussions presented herein aim to provide the readers a comprehensive understanding of the potential of nanogels as smart drug delivery systems in the context of cancer therapy.

Colon-targeted delivery of polyphenols: construction principles, targeting mechanisms and evaluation methods

Polyphenols have received considerable attention for their promotive effects on colonic health. However, polyphenols are mostly sensitive to harsh gastrointestinal environments, thus, must be protected. It is necessary to design and develop a colon-targeted delivery system to improve the stability, colon-targeting and bioavailability of polyphenols. This paper mainly introduces research on colon-targeted controlled release of polyphenols. The physiological features affecting the dissolution, release and absorption of polyphenol-loaded delivery systems in the colon are first discussed. Simultaneously, the types of colon-targeted carriers with different release mechanisms are described, and colon-targeting assessment models that have been studied so far and their advantages and limitations are summarized. Based on the current research on polyphenols colon-targeting, outlook and reflections are proposed, with the goal of inspiring strategic development of new colon-targeted therapeutics to ensure that the polyphenols reach the colon with complete bioactivity.

Application of curcumin nanoformulations to target folic acid receptor in cancer: Recent trends and advances

Curcumin, derived from turmeric, has a strong anticancer potential known for millennia. The development of this phytochemical as a medicine has been hampered by several significant deficiencies, including its poor water solubility and low bioavailability. This review article discusses possibilities to overcome these bottlenecks by focusing on this natural polyphenol's nanoformulation. Moreover, preparation of curcumin conjugates containing folates as ligands for folic acid receptors can add a new important dimension in this field, allowing specific targeting of cancer cells, considering the significantly higher expression of these receptors in malignant tissues compared to normal cells. It is highly expected that simultaneous improvement of different aspects of curcumin in fighting against such a complex and multifaceted disease like cancer. Therefore, we can better comprehend cancer biology by developing a mechanistic understanding of curcumin, which will also inspire the scientific community to develop new pharmacological models, and exploration of emerging directions to revitalize application of natural products in cancer therapy.

Nano-baicalein facilitates chemotherapy in breast cancer by targeting tumor microenvironment

Cancer-associated fibroblasts constitute a significant component in the tumor microenvironment, playing a pivotal role in tumor proliferation, invasion, migration, and metastasis. Consequently, therapy combining chemotherapeutic agents with tumor microenvironment (TME) modulators appears to be a promising avenue for cancer treatment. In this paper, a tumor microenvironment-based mPEG-PLGA nanoparticle loaded with baicalein (PMs-Ba) was constructed for the purpose of improving the tumor microenvironment in cases of triple-negative breast cancer. The results demonstrate that, on the one hand, PMs-Ba was able to inhibit the transforming growth factor β(TGF-β) signaling pathway to avoid the activation of cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs), thereby influencing the interstitial microenvironment of the tumor. On the other hand, the agent led to an increase in the infiltration of cytotoxic T cells, activating the tumor immune microenvironment. Meanwhile, in the murine breast cancer model, an intravenous injection of PMs-Ba combined with doxorubicin nanoparticles (PMs-ADM) significantly improved the antitumor effectiveness. These results suggest that baicalein encapsulated in nanoparticles may be a promising strategy for modulating the TME and for adjuvant chemotherapy, signifying a potential TME-remodeling nanoformulation that could enhance the antitumor efficacy of nanotherapeutics.

Recent Advances in the Biomedical Applications of Functionalized Nanogels

Nanomaterials have been extensively used in several applications in the past few decades related to biomedicine and healthcare. Among them, nanogels (NGs) have emerged as an important nanoplatform with the properties of both hydrogels and nanoparticles for the controlled/sustained delivery of chemo drugs, nucleic acids, or other bioactive molecules for therapeutic or diagnostic purposes. In the recent past, significant research efforts have been invested in synthesizing NGs through various synthetic methodologies such as free radical polymerization, reversible addition-fragmentation chain-transfer method (RAFT) and atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP), as well as emulsion techniques. With further polymeric functionalizations using activated esters, thiol-ene/yne processes, imines/oximes formation, cycloadditions, nucleophilic addition reactions of isocyanates, ring-opening, and multicomponent reactions were used to obtain functionalized NGs for targeted delivery of drug and other compounds. NGs are particularly intriguing for use in the areas of diagnosis, analytics, and biomedicine due to their nanodimensionality, material characteristics, physiological stability, tunable multi-functionality, and biocompatibility. Numerous NGs with a wide range of functionalities and various external/internal stimuli-responsive modalities have been possible with novel synthetic reliable methodologies. Such continuous development of innovative, intelligent materials with novel characteristics is crucial for nanomedicine for next-generation biomedical applications. This paper reviews the synthesis and various functionalization strategies of NGs with a focus on the recent advances in different biomedical applications of these surface modified/functionalized single-/dual-/multi-responsive NGs, with various active targeting moieties, in the fields of cancer theranostics, immunotherapy, antimicrobial/antiviral, antigen presentation for the vaccine, sensing, wound healing, thrombolysis, tissue engineering, and regenerative medicine.

Oral Cell-Targeted Delivery Systems Constructed of Edible Materials: Advantages and Challenges

Cell-targeted delivery is an advanced strategy which can effectively solve health problems. However, the presence of synthetic materials in delivery systems may trigger side effects. Therefore, it is necessary to develop cell-targeted delivery systems with excellent biosafety. Edible materials not only exhibit biosafety, but also can be used to construct cell-targeted delivery systems such as ligands, carriers, and nutraceuticals. Moreover, oral administration is the appropriate route for cell-targeted delivery systems constructed of edible materials (CDSEMs), which is the same as the pattern of food intake, resulting in good patient compliance. In this review, relevant studies of oral CDSEMs are collected to summarize the construction method, action mechanism, and health impact. The gastrointestinal stability of delivery systems can be improved by anti-digestible materials. The design of the surface structure, shape, and size of carrier is beneficial to overcoming the mucosal barrier. Additionally, some edible materials show dual functions of a ligand and carrier, which is conductive to simplifying the design of CDSEMs. This review can provide a better understanding and prospect for oral CDSEMs and promote their application in the health field.

Flavour compounds affect protein structure: The effect of methyl anthranilate on bovine serum albumin conformation

This study aims to understand possible effects of flavour compounds on the structure and conformation of endogenous proteins. Using methyl anthranilate (a grape flavour compound added to drinks, confectionery, and vape-liquids) and bovine serum albumin (BSA, a model serum protein) we designed experimental investigations using analytical ultracentrifugation, size exclusion chromatography small angle X-ray scattering, and fluorescence spectroscopy to reveal that methyl anthranilate spontaneously binds to BSA (ΔG°, ca. -21 KJ mol^-1) which induces a conformational compactness (ca. 10 %) in the monomer structure. Complementary molecular modelling and dynamics simulations suggested the binding occurs at Sudlow II of BSA via establishment of hydrogen bonds with arginine⁴⁰⁹, lysine⁴¹³ and serine⁴⁸⁸ leading to an increased conformational order in domains IA, IIB and IIIB. This work aims to set the foundation for future research on flavour-protein interactions and offer new sets of opportunities for understanding the effects of small compounds on protein structure.

Nano-delivery systems for food bioactive compounds in cancer: prevention, therapy, and clinical applications

Bioactive compounds represent a broad class of dietary metabolites derived from fruits and vegetables, such as polyphenols, carotenoids and glucosinolates with potential for cancer prevention. Curcumin, resveratrol, quercetin, and β-carotene have been the most widely applied bioactive compounds in chemoprevention. Lately, many approaches to encapsulating bioactive components in nano-delivery systems have improved biomolecules' stability and targeted delivery. In this review, we critically analyze nano-delivery systems for bioactive compounds, including polymeric nanoparticles (NPs), solid lipid nanoparticles (SLN), nanostructured lipid carriers (NLC), liposomes, niosomes, and nanoemulsions (NEs) for potential use in cancer therapy. Efficacy studies of the nanoformulations using cancer cell lines and in vivo models and updated human clinical trials are also discussed. Nano-delivery systems were found to improve the therapeutic efficacy of bioactive molecules against various types of cancer (e.g., breast, prostate, colorectal and lung cancer) mainly due to the antiproliferation and pro-apoptotic effects of tumor cells. Furthermore, some bioactive compounds have promised combination therapy with standard chemotherapeutic agents, with increased tumor efficiency and fewer side effects. These opportunities were identified and developed to ensure more excellent safety and efficacy of novel herbal medicines enabling novel insights for designing nano-delivery systems for bioactive compounds applied in clinical cancer therapy.

Curcumin and Derivatives in Nanoformulations with Therapeutic Potential on Colorectal Cancer

There is growing concern in the rise of colorectal cancer (CRC) cases globally, and with this rise is the presentation of drug resistance. Like other cancers, current treatment options are either invasive or manifest severe side effects. Thus, there is a move towards implementing safer treatment options. Curcumin (CUR), extracted from Curcuma longa, has received significant attention by scientists as possible alternative to chemotherapeutic agents. It is safe and effective against CRC and nontoxic in moderate concentrations. Crucially, it specifically modulates apoptotic effects on CRC. However, the use of CUR is limited by its low solubility and poor bioavailability in aqueous media. These limitations are surmountable through novel approaches, such as nanoencapsulation of CUR, which masks the physicochemical properties of CUR, thus potentiating its anti-CRC effects. Furthermore, chemical derivatization of CUR is another approach that can be used to address the above constraints. This review spans published work in the last two decades, with key findings employing either of the two approaches, in addition to a combined approach in managing CRC. The combined approach affords the possibility of better treatment outcomes but not widely investigated nor yet clinically implemented.

The restructure of Au@Ag nanorods for cell imaging with dark-field microscope

The facile and noninjurious image of cells with high resolution and low toxicity is essential since imaging can offer rich and direct information and insights into metabolic activities, clinical diagnosis, drug delivery and cancer therapy. In this contribution, a smart imaging probe was employed as a contrast agent for dark-field cell imaging. Au core/Ag shell nanorods (Au@Ag NRs) that characterized by X-ray diffraction and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, formed Au@Ag@AgI NRs when exposed to iodine, which greatly enhanced the light scattering of nanorods. Herein, the silver shell acted as the response element for iodine as well as the protective agent for Au core. When conjugated with folate, the nanorods can be used to image human cervical cancer cells (HeLa cells) under a dark-field microscope. Nanorods were demonstrated with excellent tumor cellular uptake ability without obvious cytotoxicity, making them ideal candidates in biosensing and bioimaging applications.

Bioactive compounds: Application of albumin nanocarriers as delivery systems

Enriched products with bioactive compounds (BCs) show the capacity to produce a wide range of possible health effects. Most BCs are essentially hydrophobic and sensitive to environmental factors; so, encapsulation becomes a strategy to solve these problems. Many globular proteins have the intrinsic ability to bind, protect, encapsulate, and introduce BCs into nutraceutical or pharmaceutical matrices. Among them, albumins as human serum albumin (HSA), bovine serum albumin (BSA), ovalbumin (OVA) and α-lactalbumin (ALA) are widely abundant, available, and applied in many industrial sectors, becoming promissory materials to encapsulate BCs. Therefore, this review focuses on researches about the main groups of natural origin BCs (namely phenolic compounds, lipids, vitamins, and carotenoids), the different types of nanostructures based on albumins to encapsulate them and the main fields of application for BCs-loaded albumin systems. In this context, phenolic compounds (catechins, quercetin, and chrysin) are the most extensively BCs studied and encapsulated in albumin-based nanocarriers. Other extensively studied subgroups are stilbenes and curcuminoids. Regarding lipids and vitamins; terpenes, carotenoids (β-carotene), and xanthophylls (astaxanthin) are the most considered. The main application areas of BCs are related to their antitumor, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant properties. Finally, BSA is the most used albumin to produced BCs-loaded nanocarriers.

Nanoscale Drug Delivery Systems in Glioblastoma

Glioblastoma is the most aggressive cerebral tumor in adults. However, the current pharmaceuticals in GBM treatment are mainly restricted to few chemotherapeutic drugs and have limited efficacy. Therefore, various nanoscale biomaterials that possess distinct structure and unique property were constructed as vehicles to precisely deliver molecules with potential therapeutic effect. In this review, nanoparticle drug delivery systems including CNTs, GBNs, C-dots, MOFs, Liposomes, MSNs, GNPs, PMs, Dendrimers and Nanogel were exemplified. The advantages and disadvantages of these nanoparticles in GBM treatment were illustrated.

Curcumin nanoformulations: Beneficial nanomedicine against cancer

Curcumin is a phytochemical achieved from the plant turmeric. It is extensively utilized for the treatment of several types of diseases such as cancers. Nevertheless, its efficiency has been limited because of rapid metabolism, low bioavailability, poor water solubility, and systemic elimination. Scientists have tried to solve these problems by exploring novel drug delivery systems such as lipid-based nanoparticles (NPs) (e.g., solid lipid NPs, nanostructured lipid carriers, and liposomes), polymeric NPs, micelles, nanogels, cyclodextrin, gold, and mesoporous silica NPs. Among these, liposomes have been the most expansively studied. This review mainly focuses on the different curcumin nanoformulations and their use in cancer therapy in vitro, in vivo, and clinical studies. Despite the development of curcumin-containing NPs for the treatment of cancer, potentially serious side effects, including interactions with other drugs, some toxicity aspects of NPs may occur that require more high-quality investigations to firmly establish the clinical efficacy.

Folic Acid Decorated Zeolitic Imidazolate Framework (ZIF-8) Loaded with Baicalin as a Nano-Drug Delivery System for Breast Cancer Therapy

Background

Baicalin (BAN) has attracted widespread attention due to its low-toxicity and efficient antitumor activity, but its poor water solubility and low bioavailability severely limit its clinical application. Development of a targeted drug delivery system is a good strategy to improve the antitumor activity of baicalin.

Methods

We prepared a BAN nano-drug delivery system PEG-FA@ZIF-8@BAN with a zeolite imidazole framework-8 (ZIF-8) as a carrier, which can achieve the response of folate receptor (FR). We characterized this system in terms of morphology, particle size, zeta-potential, infrared (IR), ultraviolet (UV), x-ray diffraction (XRD), and Brunel-Emmett-Teller (BET), and examined the in vitro cytotoxicity and cellular uptake properties of PEG-FA@ZIF-8@BAN using MCF-7 cells. Lastly, we established a 4T1 tumor-bearing mouse model and evaluated its in vivo anti-mammary cancer activity.

Results

The PEG-FA@ZIF-8@BAN nano-delivery system had good dispersion with a BAN loading efficiency of 41.45 ± 1.43%, hydrated particle size of 176 ± 8.1 nm, Zeta-potential of −23.83 ± 1.1 mV, and slow and massive drug release in an acidic environment (pH 5.0), whereas release was 11.03% in a neutral environment (pH 7.4). In vitro studies showed that PEG-FA@ZIF-8@BAN could significantly enhance the killing effect of BAN on MCF-7 cells, and the folic acid-mediated targeting could lead to better uptake of nanoparticles by tumor cells and thus better killing of cancer cells. In vivo studies also showed that PEG-FA@ZIF-8@BAN significantly increased the inhibition of the proliferation of solid breast cancer tumors (p < 0.01 or p < 0.001).

Conclusion

The PEG-FA@ZIF-8@BAN nano-drug delivery system significantly enhanced the anti-breast cancer effect of baicalin both in vivo and in vitro, providing a more promising drug delivery system for the clinical applications and tumor management.

Prospects of Curcumin Nanoformulations in Cancer Management

There is increasing interest in the use of natural compounds with beneficial pharmacological effects for managing diseases. Curcumin (CUR) is a phytochemical that is reportedly effective against some cancers through its ability to regulate signaling pathways and protein expression in cancer development and progression. Unfortunately, its use is limited due to its hydrophobicity, low bioavailability, chemical instability, photodegradation, and fast metabolism. Nanoparticles (NPs) are drug delivery systems that can increase the bioavailability of hydrophobic drugs and improve drug targeting to cancer cells via different mechanisms and formulation techniques. In this review, we have discussed various CUR-NPs that have been evaluated for their potential use in treating cancers. Formulations reviewed include lipid, gold, zinc oxide, magnetic, polymeric, and silica NPs, as well as micelles, dendrimers, nanogels, cyclodextrin complexes, and liposomes, with an emphasis on their formulation and characteristics. CUR incorporation into the NPs enhanced its pharmaceutical and therapeutic significance with respect to solubility, absorption, bioavailability, stability, plasma half-life, targeted delivery, and anticancer effect. Our review shows that several CUR-NPs have promising anticancer activity; however, clinical reports on them are limited. We believe that clinical trials must be conducted on CUR-NPs to ensure their effective translation into clinical applications.

Treating colon cancers with a non-conventional yet strategic approach: An overview of various nanoparticulate systems

Regardless of progress in therapy management which are developed for colon cancer (CC), it remains the third most common cause of mortality due to cancers around the world. Conventional medicines pose side effects due to untoward action on non-target cells. Their inability to deliver drugs to the affected regions of the colon locally, in a reproducible manner raises a concern towards the efficacy of therapy. In this regard, nanoparticles emerged as a promising drug delivery system due to their flexibility in designing, drug release modulation and cancer cell targeting. Not only are nanoparticles making their way into colon cancer research in the revolution of conventional onco-therapeutics, but they also offer promising scope in the development of colon cancer vaccines and theranostic tools. However, there are challenges with respect to drug delivery using nanoparticles, which may hamper the delivery of these novel carriers to the colon. The present review addresses recent advents in nanotechnology for colon-specific drug delivery (CDDS) which may help to overcome the existing challenges and intends to recognize futuristic potentials in the treatment of CC with CDDS.

Chitosan coordination driven self-assembly for effective delivery of curcumin

Self-assembly of metal-ligand coordination is of immense scientific interest in supramolecular construction of functional materials duo to their desirable functional properties. Herein, we investigated a designable coordination driven self-assembly to simultaneously enhance the water solubility and biological stability of curcumin (Cur). On the basis of amino group in chitosan (CS), it was chosen as the high-affinity anchors for coordination nanocomplexes, in which Cur were incorporated into the amino group by coordination bonding, forming a CS-metal-Cur architecture. The sizes of these nanocomplexes can be tuned by the feed concentrations of CS as well as the kind of metal ions. Time dependent absorption spectral measurements demonstrated the significant increase in hydrolytic stability of Cur after forming nanoparticles (NPs) especially for the CS-Cu-Cur NPs. Particularly, the formed CS-metal-Cur NPs can be efficiently triggered by pH, which was stable under physiological conditions while releasing encapsulated drugs under low pH conditions in a sustained manner. Based on cellular uptake study and cytotoxicity experiments, CS-metal-Cur NPs were shown to possess highly efficient internalization and an apparent cytotoxic effect. The high drug-loading capacities and responses to pH value, substantially enhanced antitumor activity of Cur provided this nanocomplex with promising properties for biomimetic and biomedical applications.

Self-Assembled Nanocarriers Based on Modified Chitosan for Biomedical Applications: Preparation and Characterization

Protein-polysaccharide systems are of increasing interest as their combined attributes allow for fulfilling a broad range of applications in biomedical and pharmaceutical fields. In this study, the preparation of nanogels based on maleic anhydride chitosan derivatives (MAC) and bovine serum albumin (BSA) was achieved through a self-assembly process performed in aqueous phase. A series of experiments performed by varying the concentrations of MAC and BSA were conducted to find an appropriate mixing ratio for the polymer solutions leading to thermodynamically stable nanogels with the ability to encapsulate active compounds. The influence of temperature on the formation of nanogels was also studied. The consequent conformational changes were monitored using ultraviolet-visible (UV-VIS) spectrophotometry. The spectrophotometric investigations combined with diffraction light scattering (DLS) technique and zeta potential measurement results were correlated to determine the interaction mechanism and assess the self-assembling processes during nanogel formation. It was found that the hydrodynamic diameter (D_h) of the nanoparticles increased slightly at acidic pH, and the protonation of ionizable amino groups with the pH was confirmed by the zeta potential measurements. MAC/BSA nanogels also exhibited antimicrobial properties after being loaded with amoxicillin (Amox), which is an antibiotic used for the treatment of various infections. The experimental data resulting from this study provide theoretical guidance for the design and development of attractive nanocarriers for a large variety of biomedical applications.

Direct Conjugation of Resveratrol on Hydrophilic Gold Nanoparticles: Structural and Cytotoxic Studies for Biomedical Applications

Strongly hydrophilic gold nanoparticles (AuNPs), functionalized with citrate and L-cysteine, were synthetized and used as Resveratrol (RSV) vehicle to improve its bioavailability. Two different conjugation procedures were investigated: the first by adding RSV during AuNPs synthesis (1) and the second by adding RSV after AuNPs synthesis (2). The two different conjugated systems, namely AuNPs@RSV1 and AuNPs@RSV2 respectively, showed good loading efficiency (η%): η1 = 80 ± 5% for AuNPs@RSV1 and η2 = 20 ± 3% for AuNPs@RSV2. Both conjugated systems were investigated by means of Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS), confirming hydrophilic behavior and nanodimension (<2RH> 1 = 45 ± 12 nm and <2RH> 2 = 170 ± 30 nm). Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR), Synchrotron Radiation induced X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (SR-XPS) and Near Edge X-ray Absorption Fine Structure (NEXAFS) techniques were applied to deeply understand the hooking mode of RSV on AuNPs surface in the two differently conjugated systems. Moreover, the biocompatibility of AuNPs and AuNPs@RSV1 was evaluated in the concentration range 1.0-45.5 µg/mL by assessing their effect on breast cancer cell vitality. The obtained data confirmed that, at the concentration used, AuNPs do not induce cell death, whereas AuNPs@RSV1 maintains the same anticancer effects as the unconjugated RSV.