Evaluation of inorganic nano-crystals as potential tools for delivery of siRNA targeting ion channels and transporters in breast cancer cells

Carbonate apatite nanoparticles have been explored to deliver siRNA with a goal to inhibit the expression of certain endogenous genes that stimulate the tumour cell growth, to prevent the multiple drug resistance (MDR) problem encountered in cancer therapy. In this research study, the roles of ion channels and transporters in breast cancer survival and proliferation were investigated with standard and modified CA nanoparticles. Hybrid CA was synthesized with different organic polymeric materials and these particles demonstrated significant reduction in viability of breast cancer cells, indicating that ion channels are potential therapeutic targets that could be subjected to siRNA-mediated silencing to treat cancer.