Ovarian cancer is one of the leading causes of
cancer death for women throughout the Western world.
Kaempferol, a natural
flavonoid, has shown promise in the
chemoprevention of
ovarian cancer. A common concern about using dietary supplements for
chemoprevention is their bioavailability. Nanoparticles have shown promise in increasing the bioavailability of some chemicals. Here we developed five different types of nanoparticles incorporating
kaempferol and tested their efficacy in the inhibition of viability of cancerous and normal ovarian cells. We found that positively charged nanoparticle formulations did not lead to a significant reduction in
cancer cell viability, whereas nonionic polymeric nanoparticles resulted in enhanced reduction of
cancer cell viability. Among the nonionic polymeric nanoparticles,
poly(ethylene oxide)-poly(propylene oxide)-poly(ethylene oxide) (
PEO-PPO-PEO) nanoparticles incorporating
kaempferol led to significant reduction in cell viability of both cancerous and normal cells. Poly(DL-
lactic acid-co-
glycolic acid) (PLGA) nanoparticles incorporating
kaempferol resulted in enhanced reduction of
cancer cell viability together with no significant reduction in cell viability of normal cells compared with
kaempferol alone. Therefore, both
PEO-PPO-PEO and PLGA nanoparticle formulations were effective in reducing
cancer cell viability, while PLGA nanoparticles incorporating
kaempferol had selective toxicity against
cancer cells and normal cells. A PLGA nanoparticle formulation could be advantageous in the prevention and treatment of
ovarian cancers. On the other hand,
PEO-PPO-PEO nanoparticles incorporating
kaempferol were more effective inhibitors of
cancer cells, but they also significantly reduced the viability of normal cells.
PEO-PPO-PEO nanoparticles incorporating
kaempferol may be suitable as a
cancer-targeting strategy, which could limit the effects of the nanoparticles on normal cells while retaining their potency against
cancer cells. We have identified two nanoparticle formulations incorporating
kaempferol that may lead to breakthroughs in
cancer treatment. Both
PEO-PPO-PEO and PLGA nanoparticle formulations had superior effects compared with
kaempferol alone in reducing
cancer cell viability.