Hpv E6/E7 Silencing and Ferroptosis Modulation in Cervical Cancer: in-Vitro Evaluation Of a Biomimetic Co-Delivery Platform
Keywords:
Biomimetic nanocarrier, E6/E7-siRNA, RSL3; polymeric nanoparticle, co-delivery, Quality by Design, Design of Experiments, formulation development, critical quality attributes, pharmaceuticsAbstract
The simultaneous delivery of a nucleic-acid therapeutic and a small-molecule ferroptosis modulator presents a distinct
pharmaceutics challenge because the two cargos differ in size, charge, hydrophilicity and loading requirements. HPV E6/E7-
siRNA requires protection from degradation and efficient intracellular availability, whereas RSL3 is incorporated within the
polymeric carrier to provide a formulation-compatible nanoscale delivery approach.
Objective:To develop and optimize a biomimetic nanocarrier for co-delivery of HPV E6/E7-siRNA and RSL3 using a
Quality by Design (QbD) and Design of Experiments (DoE) framework, and to establish the physicochemical and functional
performance of the optimized formulation.
Methods:A QbD strategy comprising QTPP definition, CQA identification, formulation/process risk consideration and an
eight-run, three-factor DoE was applied. The formulation consisted of a PLGA-based nanoparticle core containing RSL3,
E6/E7-siRNA associated with the nanoparticle, stabilizing components and a biomimetic membrane coating. The optimized
formulation was evaluated for particle size, PDI, zeta potential, siRNA association, RSL3 loading, morphology and cellular
delivery, followed by functional assessment of E6/E7 silencing and ferroptosis-associated responses.
Results:The optimized biomimetic nanocarrier exhibited a particle size of 108 ± 6 nm, PDI of 0.19 ± 0.02, zeta potential of
+17.7 ± 1.7 mV, E6/E7-siRNA association of 85.4 ± 2.6%, RSL3 loading of 77.8 ± 2.4% and pH of 8.3 ± 0.1. The formulation
showed enhanced intracellular delivery compared with free cargo, reduced E6/E7 expression and produced a co-loaded
formulation-associated increase in lipid ROS with reduction in GSH/GSSG and changes in GPX4, SLC7A11 and ACSL4.
Conclusion:The study establishes a pharmaceutics-oriented QbD pathway for development of an E6/E7-siRNA–RSL3 coloaded biomimetic nanocarrier. The formulation-development sequence, nanoscale characteristics, cargo association/loading
and functional delivery provide a basis for further formulation refinement and biological validation.
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