Adriamycin-loaded Gelatin Microspheres in the Treatment of Bone Tumors

Objective: This study harnessed adriamycin-loaded gelatin microspheres (ADM-GMS) to examine their properties and in vitro release characteristics, and explore their effect on human osteosarcoma U-20s cell strain and its mechanism. Methods: ADM-GMS was prepared using the emulsification-crosslinking method. The scanning electron microscope was employed to observe the shape of microspheres, and particle size and distribution were measured using a laser particle size device. The drug loading rate and encapsulation rate were calculated by ultraviolet spectrophotometry, and the drug release performance of the microspheres to adriamycin (ADM) was evaluated. The cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) method was used to evaluate the anti-tumor activity of ADM-GMS on human osteosarcoma U-20s cell strain in vitro. Results: We determined an optimal material ratio of 1:10 for ADM-GMS, with which the microspheres showed a round shape and excellent dispersity. The average particle size with the optimal material ratio was 14.02±1.67μm, with a drug loading rate of 6.05±0.26% and an encapsulation rate of 84.27±3.10%. ADM-GMS had excellent sustained-release properties and a significant inhibitory effect on the growth of human osteosarcoma U-20s. Conclusion: ADM-GMS, prepared with a material ratio of 1:1, has a promising slow-release ability and an anti-bone tumor effect with a lower Semi-inhibitory concentration. Thus, this ADM gelatin delivery system is worthy of further clinical research. However, the detection method in this study is simple and weakly supported by clinical trials, and more investigations are required for further verification.