Mucoadhesive Boronated‐Chitosan Nanoparticles for Cisplatin Delivery: A Novel Approach for Localized Cervical Cancer Therapy

Abstract Cervical cancer is a global concern for females. Systemic chemotherapy comes with the limitation of causing toxicity to major organs. Therefore, localized chemotherapy gained attention as it favors confining drug doses to the target area thus preventing systemic toxicity. Cisplatin is a gold standard treatment, therefore, is the model drug of the present investigation. Chitosan nanoparticles are preferable for vaginal application due to their high surface‐to‐volume ratio, mucoadhesiveness, ability to modify release pattern, etc. Mostly, tripolyphosphate has been used to crosslink these nanoparticles, however, we have used boric acid as a crosslinker to formulate cisplatin‐loaded boric acid crosslinked chitosan nanoparticles (CisBANP). CisBANP was compared with cisplatin‐loaded tripolyphosphate crosslinked chitosan nanoparticles (CisTPPNP), which reflected the enhanced anticancer potential. CisBANP was observed to have optimum morphology for vaginal delivery and followed a sustained pattern eluting about 80% drug in 24 h. The accelerated anticancer potential of CisBANP was analyzed through anti‐inflammatory activity, antioxidant study, cytotoxicity, caspase activity, and carbonic anhydrase inhibition. The ability of boric acid to enhance the anticancer efficacy of cisplatin created a potential therapeutic intervention for cervical cancer. However, the in vivo therapeutic potential of the developed nano‐formulation is yet to be confirmed for clinical validation.