Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most frequent primary liver malignancy and the fourth-most lethal cancer. Current HCC therapies have different challenges, including tumor recurrence, drug resistance, and low bioavailability of the drugs. Recently, nanodrug delivery systems such as non-ionic surfactant-based nanoparticles (also known as niosomes) have attracted much attention in cancer treatment due to their appropriate encapsulation, stability, bioavailability, and release properties.

Method: In this study, turmerone-loaded niosomes (tur-nio) were synthesized using the thin film hydration method. Niosome characteristics such as size, polydispersity index (PDI), and zeta potential were assessed with dynamic light scattering (DLS). In addition, the storage stability of niosomes was examined at 4 °C and 25 °C using DLS. The anti-cancer effects of tur-nio were investigated through performing proliferation, apoptosis, cell cycle, and scratch assays on Huh7 cells. Additionally, the effect of tur-nio on the expression of genes related to epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), including E-cadherin, N-cadherin, and vimentin, was examined.

Results: DLS analysis showed that niosomes were completely stable at 4 °C for two months. Tur-nio significantly inhibited proliferation of Huh7 cells compared to the control group. Flow cytometry analysis indicated that tur-nio treatment efficiently induced apoptosis and cell cycle arrest in Huh7 cells. Furthermore, the scratch assay showed that in tur-nio treated cells, migration capacity was significantly inhibited. EMT related genes were down regulated as well. The expression level of N-cadherin and vimentin was significantly decreased in tur-nio treated cells in comparison with the control group. In addition, tur-nio treatment increased the expression level of E-cadherin.

Conclusion: This study showed that turmerone-loaded niosomes have anti-cancer properties and could have therapeutic potential for HCC treatment. In addition, these results suggest that niosomes could be a novel vehicle for drug delivery in HCC.