Design of Drug Delivery Systems Using Three-Dimensional Printed Scaffolds for Breast Cancer

  • Nassra Alneyadi

Student thesis: Master's Thesis

Abstract

The high prevalence of breast cancer poses a monumental threat to the health of women globally. Studies on developing effective therapies for the illness utilize animal models. However, they sometimes fail to predict the actual drug response and toxicity in humans. The 3D scaffolds represent exceptional tools that are potentially more accurate and reproducible compared to the animal models. They mimic the extracellular matrix (ECM), where cells are embedded in the human body. The study designed a novel 3D hydrogel scaffold that can serve as an in vitro model for testing drugs using human MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells. Firstly, the alginic acid was crosslinked with calcium chloride to develop the model. Subsequently, FITC dye was added, and the diffusion rate was observed after 0.5, 1, 3, 24, and 48 hours. Next, alginic acid was used to develop the beads in a culture media solution, and the cancer cells were injected into it. Similarly, the dye was added, and observations were performed from 0.5 - 48 hours. The findings revealed that the dye exhibited a high diffusion rate, which increased steadily with time. Additionally, the diffusion rate was high in the system containing the cancer cells and their clarity increased gradually with time. Importantly, the number of cells increased by two folds from 24 to 48 hours. The results suggest that the system is potentially effective for drug delivery due to the high diffusion rate of the dye. Furthermore, it is a promising alternative for animal models in breast cancer research since it supported the proliferation of cells. Future studies should examine the diffusion rate of anti-cancer drugs in the developed model. The research significantly contributes towards enhancing the prediction of human response to anti-cancer drugs and potentially provides an effective drug delivery system candidate for breast cancer.
Date of AwardDec 2022
Original languageAmerican English

Keywords

  • Breast cancer
  • 3D Scaffolds
  • Alginate beads
  • Drug system delivery
  • In vitro model

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