Enhancement of physico-chemical properties of the hydrophobic anticancer molecule following nanoencapsulation

Flavonoids are one of the important naturally available small molecules found in our daily diets. They have been considered as potential therapeutic agents for anticancer therapy. Despite their anti-cancer properties, their therapeutic application is very limited due to poor water solubility, which results in poor bioavailability to the diseased cells. Hence, to overcome this limitation of Flavonoids, Quercetin (Qct), the most extensively studied flavonoid, prompted us to encapsulate it within nanoparticles. We have successfully encapsulated Qct within cationic polymer based nanoparticles using simple two-step self-assembly fabrication method and studied its effect on absorption and emission properties of Qct. This study was aimed at Qct encapsulation and its effect on the optical properties of Qct for the diagnostic applications. Our results indicate that Qct was efficiently encapsulated within the polymeric nanoparticles. This resulted into ~17 times increase in fluorescence emission of encapsulated Qct (Qct-NPs) in comparison with its aqueous suspension. Thus, Qct-NPs can be utilized as a fluorescent probe for various biomedical applications. These probes will have multiple functions integrated into a single nanostructure, enabling the Qct nanoparticles for imaging and therapy. This is the first report on the effect of nanoencapsulation on optical properties of Qct. Thus, Qct-NPs can be harnessed as an effective theranostic agent, and that will not only allow to image and but also treat the cancer in a single clinical procedure.