Preparation of an injectable doxorubicin surface modified cellulose nanofiber gel and evaluation of its anti‐tumor and anti‐metastasis activity in melanoma

Cellulose nanofibers (Cel‐NFs) gel can be considered as a useful drug carrier because of its biocompatibility, high specific surface area, and high loading capacity of drugs. Injectable Cel‐NFs gel could deliver doxorubicin (DOX) for localized chemotherapy of melanoma and suppress melanoma cells migration because of the physical barrier property of Cel‐NFs. We prepared DOX surface modified Cel‐NFs (DOX‐Cel‐NFs) gel by the electrostatic attachment of DOX molecules on the surface of Cel‐NFs. The increase in the zeta potential of nanofibers and the changes in the FTIR spectra of DOX‐Cel‐NFs compared to Cel‐NFs proved this attachment. DOX‐Cel‐NFs showed nano‐fibrous structure with an average diameter of 22.32 ± 10.66 nm after analyzing using field emission scanning electron microscopy. The suitable injectability of DOX‐Cel‐NFs gel verified its promising application for the localized chemotherapy. DOX‐Cel‐NFs gel exhibited a sustained drug release manner. The cytotoxicity results showed that DOX‐Cel‐NFs were more cytotoxic against melanoma cancer cells than the free DOX during 48 h incubation period. Moreover, DOX‐Cel‐NFs gel can suppress the melanoma cancer cells migration efficiently. Thus our results emphasize the potential of DOX‐Cel‐NFs gel as a chemotherapeutic agent for local delivery of DOX in order to treat melanoma and prevent its metastasis. © 2018 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog., 34:537–545, 2018