Physicochemical properties and in vitro cytotoxicity studies of chitosan as a potential agent for cancer treatment

Abstract

The mechanisms responsible for the cytotoxic effects of chitosan on cancer cells are still unclear. The goal of this study was to evaluate the physicochemical and cytotoxic properties of chitosan in vitro on mouse hepatoma MH-22A (tumor cells) and Chinese hamster ovary (CHO, noncancerous) cells cultivated on films with different chitosan concentrations and cultivated on Petri dishes after preincubation with chitosan solutions. The chitins and chitosans of different origin (crustacean, insect, mushroom) were characterized by attenuated total reflectance-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR), elemental analyses (EA), nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR), thermogravimetric analyses (TGA) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). To measure plating efficiency (cloning efficiency), cells were plated at low densities on chitosan films or after preincubation with chitosan solutions cells were plated on Petri dishes and allowed to grow. To see the colonies clearly, they were stained with crystal violet. To reveal the rupture of cell membrane (morphologic expression of necrosis) cells were stained with Trypan Blue solution after 40 and 100 min of chitosan treatment.[...]