The present research aims to encapsulate lawsone in polylactic-co-glycolic acid (PLGA) nanoparticles modified with folic acid (FA) and chitosan (CS) to study its anticancer effects against Panc-1 cells. The nanoparticles were analysed in means of shape/size and zeta potential index using scanning electron microscope and dynamic light scattering. High-performance liquid chromatography was applied to evaluate the lawsone entrapment efficacy. The authors performed acridine orange/propidium iodide staining and flow cytometry to monitor apoptosis induction and cell cycle arrest. The expressions of apoptosis-related genes (BAX and BCL-2) were assessed by real time PCR. Nanoparticle antioxidative and antibacterial activities were examined by DPPH/ABTS scavenging assay, disk diffusion method, and minimum inhibitory concentration and minimum bactericidal concentration evaluation. The NPs were 229.65 nm, the encapsulation efficiency was 81%. The concentration of lawsone that exerts 50% cell growth inhibition (IC50 ) against Panc-1 cells was calculated 118.4 μL. Apoptosis induction was evidenced by the increased number of orange cells and increased proportion of cells in G1-Sub phase respectively. Moreover, lawsone-loaded nanoparticle upregulated BAX gene expression, while downregulated BCL2expression, suggesting the activation of apoptotic pathway. The observed cytotoxic/apoptotic properties suggest that Lawson-loaded PLGA-FA-CS-NPs hold a great potential in pancreatic cancer treatment.

中文翻译：

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Lawsone 封装的经壳聚糖-叶酸修饰的聚乳酸-乙醇酸共聚物纳米粒子成功抑制了 Panc-1 癌细胞的细胞生长并引发细胞凋亡。

本研究旨在将指甲花酮封装在叶酸（FA）和壳聚糖（CS）修饰的聚乳酸-乙醇酸（PLGA）纳米颗粒中，以研究其对Panc-1细胞的抗癌作用。使用扫描电子显微镜和动态光散射分析纳米颗粒的形状/尺寸和zeta电位指数。采用高效液相色谱法评价指甲花松的包封效果。作者进行了吖啶橙/碘化丙啶染色和流式细胞术来监测细胞凋亡诱导和细胞周期停滞。通过实时PCR评估凋亡相关基因（BAX和BCL-2）的表达。通过DPPH/ABTS清除实验、纸片扩散法以及最低抑菌浓度和最低杀菌浓度评价来检测纳米粒子的抗氧化和抗菌活性。纳米粒子粒径为229.65 nm，包封率为81%。经计算，对Panc-1细胞发挥50%细胞生长抑制作用（IC50）的指甲花松浓度为118.4 μL。橙色细胞数量增加和G1-Sub期细胞比例增加分别证明细胞凋亡诱导。此外，负载lawsone的纳米颗粒上调了BAX基因的表达，同时下调了BCL2的表达，表明细胞凋亡途径的激活。观察到的细胞毒性/细胞凋亡特性表明，Lawson 负载的 PLGA-FA-CS-NP 在胰腺癌治疗中具有巨大潜力。