Facile fabrication of anticancer peptide coated zeolite imidazole framework for effective treatment of colorectal cancer cells and its apoptosis induction

The low drug resistance, excellent cancer cell targeting, and anticancer benefits of anticancer peptides (ACPs) make them an attractive antitumor drug option. On the other hand, enzymes readily break down in many ACPs after delivery due to their non-specific toxicity. Consequently, drug delivery systems (DDSs) are necessary to avoid the peptides' dissociation and persuade targeted delivery. The cationic amphiphilic anticancer peptide, G(IIKK) 3 I-NH 2 (G3), was developed in this work using a high-performance microfluidic system, which encapsulates the zeolitic imidazolate framework (ZIF-8). The ACPs-loaded nanoparticles (NPs) were efficiently and quickly mixed using the microfluidic system, resulting in NPs with tunable properties. The encapsulation efficacy was high, and the production rate was 120   mL/min. The microfluidic technique-based ZIF-8 fabrication demonstrated better size homogeneity, as evidenced by a decreased polydispersity index (PDI) compared to the conventional technique. The hemolytic effect was much diminished, and a pH-controlled release of the G3 peptides was achieved by encapsulating G(IIKK) 3 I-NH 2 (termed as G3@ZIF-8) into the ZIF-8. Owing to the improved cell absorption by the ZIF-8, G3@ZIF-8 demonstrated a stronger anticancer impact than the free G3 peptide at identical concentrations. In addition to damaging the mitochondrial membrane of HCT 116 colorectal cancer cells, the NPs were able to suppress the proliferation. Consequently, ACP-based cancer therapy can be expanded by developing G3-loaded ZIF-8-NPs, offering an option technique for ACP-based delivery.