comparison of the effect of alpha-pinene and chitosan nanoparticles containing it on the survival and expression of genes involved in apoptosis in a-375 melanoma cells

Aim and background: melanoma is the most severe type of skin cancer. it is very important to develop new drugs with few side effects. alpha-pinene is the main ingredient of rosemary and conifer essential oils. the anticancer activities of α-pinene involve molecular mechanisms such as suppression of inflammation and induction of apoptosis. methods: chitosan nanoparticles containing alpha-pinene was first prepared using ionic gelation process. anticancer effect and effects on apoptotic involved genes were investigated using mtt and rt-qpcr analyses. results and discussion: nanoparticles with particle size of 102 ± 6 nm and zeta potential of 41.7 ± 1 millivolts were prepared. atr-ftir analysis confirmed the successful loading of α-pinene into the nanoparticles. free chitosan nanoparticles did not show significant cytotoxic effect (<10%) on a-375 human melanoma cells. in addition, the effectiveness of chitosan nanoparticles containing alpha-pinene with ic50 of 76.4 µg/ml was significantly more potent than alpha-pinene of the undetermined form with ic50 of 173.5 µg/ml. moreover, rt-qpcr results showed that bax/bcl2 ratio after treatment with samples was >1 and apoptosis may have occurred. conclusion: according to the obtained results, chitosan nanoparticles containing alpha-pinene can be considered for in vivo study.