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RETRACTED ARTICLE: Fluvastatin-Loaded Emulsomes Exhibit Improved Cytotoxic and Apoptosis in Prostate Cancer Cells

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This article was retracted on 02 June 2023

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Abstract

Fluvastatin (FLV) is known to inhibit the 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A (HMG-CoA), which is over-expressed in various cancers. FLV has been reported to decrease cancer development and metastasis. However, because of low bioavailability, extensive first-pass metabolism and short half-life of FLV (1.2 h), it is not appropriate for clinical application. Therefore, FLV-loaded emulsomes were formulated and optimized using Box–Behnken experimental design to achieve higher efficiency of formulation. Antitumor activity of optimized FLV-loaded emulsomes was evaluated in prostate cancer cells using cell cytotoxicity, apoptotic activity, cell cycle analysis, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The FLV-loaded emulsomes exhibited a monodispersed size distribution with a mean particle size less than 100 nm as measured by zetasizer. The entrapment efficiency was found to be 93.74% with controlled drug release profile. FLV-EMLs showed a significant inhibitory effect on the viability of PC3 cells when compared to the free FLV (P < 0.0025). Furthermore, FLV-EMLs showed significant arrest in G2/M and increase in percentage of apoptotic cells as compared to free FLV. FLV-EMLs were more effective than free FLV in reducing mitochondrial membrane potential and increase in caspase-3 activity. These results suggesting that FLV-EMLs caused cell cycle arrest which clarifies its significant antiproliferative effect compared to the free drug. Therefore, optimized FLV-EMLs may be an effective carrier for FLV in prostate cancer treatment.

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Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge with thanks DSR for technical support.

Funding

This project was funded by the Deanship of Scientific Research (DSR) at King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, under grant no. (RG-3-166-41).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pharmaceutics, Faculty of Pharmacy, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, 21589, Saudi Arabia

    Nabil A. Alhakamy, Shaimaa M. Badr-Eldin, Hibah M. Aldawsari, Anas Alfarsi, Usama A. Fahmy, Osama A.A. Ahmad & Shadab Md

  2. Center of Excellence for Drug Research & Pharmaceutical Industries, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, 21589, Saudi Arabia

    Nabil A. Alhakamy, Hibah M. Aldawsari, Usama A. Fahmy, Osama A.A. Ahmad & Shadab Md

  3. Mohamed Saeed Tamer Chair for Pharmaceutical Industries, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, 21589, Saudi Arabia

    Nabil A. Alhakamy, Hibah M. Aldawsari, Usama A. Fahmy, Osama A.A. Ahmad & Shadab Md

  4. Department of Pharmaceutics and Industrial Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Cairo University, Cairo, 12613, Egypt

    Shaimaa M. Badr-Eldin

  5. Department of Pharmacology & Toxicology, Faculty of Pharmacy, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, 21589, Saudi Arabia

    Thikryat Neamatallah & Basma G. Eid

  6. Global Analytical and Pharmaceutical Development, Alexion Pharmaceuticals, New Haven, Connecticut, 06510, USA

    Solomon Z. Okbazghi

  7. Department of Pharmaceutics, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

    Wael Ali Mahdi, Adel F. Alghaith & Sultan Alshehri

  8. College of Pharmacy, Almaarefa University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

    Sultan Alshehri

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  1. Nabil A. Alhakamy
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Correspondence to Shadab Md.

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This article has been retracted. Please see the retraction notice for more detail: https://doi.org/10.1208/s12249-023-02591-y

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Alhakamy, N.A., Badr-Eldin, S.M., Aldawsari, H.M. et al. RETRACTED ARTICLE: Fluvastatin-Loaded Emulsomes Exhibit Improved Cytotoxic and Apoptosis in Prostate Cancer Cells. AAPS PharmSciTech 22, 177 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1208/s12249-021-02021-x

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