Styrene-maleic acid-thymoquinone nanomicelles preparation, and their in vitro and in vivo application in a model of TNBC

To develop and characterize a micellar system, SMA-TQ (styrene-maleic acid-thymoquinone), for the potential management of triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). SMA synthesis and TQ encapsulation in SMA are described. The loading of TQ in SMA-TQ was established at 20%. The size of SMA-TQ micelle as determined by DLS was in average of 155.2 nm with a polydispersity index of 0.350. In vitro testing was carried out in 4T1 TNBC cell line, and in vivo testing in mice model of TNBC. In vitro experiments revealed an added effect of SMA-TQ and doxorubicin (Doxo) at doses of 1–3 mM). In vivo studies showed that the combination of SMA-TQ and Doxo had the least mean tumor growth (509.6%) compared to other treatments. Obtained results collectively suggest that the combination of SMA-TQ and Doxo has cumulative effects in inhibiting tumor growth, emphasizing the significance of combination therapies to enhance anticancer effectiveness. This work reveals SMA-TQ micellar system as complementary therapeutic option in TNBC. Thymoquinone is a natural compound that can help fight cancer. But it doesn’t mix well with water, which makes it hard to use in treatments. We found a simple way to solve this problem by creating a special tiny-particle mixture called a <i>nanoformulation</i>. This nanoformulation has some big benefits. It helps send the medicine directly to the tumor, so we can use smaller amounts of chemotherapy drugs. This means fewer side effects for patients. We tested this new method on a very aggressive type of breast cancer. In our animal studies, we saw that using our nanoformulation with a common cancer drug called doxorubicin worked very well. Even better, we were able to use much less doxorubicin, which helped reduce its harmful side effects.