Enhanced Killing of Colon Cancer Cells by Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles Loaded with Ellagic Acid

AbouAitah, Khaled; Nassrallah, Amr; Soliman, Ahmed  A. F.; Swiderska-Sroda, Anna; Chudoba, Tadeusz; Smalc-Koziorowska, Julita; Kim, Beom Soo; Łojkowski, Witold

doi:10.3390/nano15201547

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Enhanced Killing of Colon Cancer Cells by Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles Loaded with Ellagic Acid

by

Khaled AbouAitah

^1,2,*

,

Amr Nassrallah

^3,4,

Ahmed A. F. Soliman

⁵,

Anna Swiderska-Sroda

⁶,

Tadeusz Chudoba

⁶,

Julita Smalc-Koziorowska

⁷

,

Beom Soo Kim

^1,*

and

Witold Łojkowski

^6,*

¹

Department of Chemical Engineering, Chungbuk National University, Cheongju 28644, Republic of Korea

²

Medicinal and Aromatic Plants Research Department, Pharmaceutical and Drug Industries Research Institute, National Research Centre (NRC), 33 El-Behouth Street, Dokki, Giza 12622, Egypt

³

Biotechnology Program, Faculty of Basic Applied Science Institute, Egypt-Japan University of Science and Technology (E-JUST), New Borg El-Arab, Alexandria 21934, Egypt

⁴

Biochemistry Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Cairo University, Giza 12613, Egypt

⁵

Pharmacognosy Department, Pharmaceutical and Drug Industries Research Institute, National Research Centre (NRC), 33 El-Behouth St, Dokki, Giza 12622, Egypt

⁶

Laboratory of Nanostructures and Nanomedicine, Institute of High Pressure Physics, Polish Academy of Sciences, Sokolowska 29/37, 01-142 Warsaw, Poland

⁷

Laboratory of Semiconductor Characterization, Institute of High Pressure Physics, Polish Academy of Sciences, Sokolowska 29/37, 01-142 Warsaw, Poland

^*

Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Nanomaterials 2025, 15(20), 1547; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano15201547

Submission received: 1 August 2025 / Revised: 19 September 2025 / Accepted: 27 September 2025 / Published: 10 October 2025

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Metal Nanostructures in Biological Applications)

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Abstract

Background: Natural compounds, including ellagic acid (ELG), are promising anticancer agents with low adverse effects. In this paper, we test in vitro the effectiveness of mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSN) as an ELG carrier against colon cancer. Methods: We produced MSNs functionalized with triptycene (TRP) and loaded with ELG, further called MSNTRPELG nanoformulation. The nanoformulation contained over 11 wt.% TRP and approximately 25 wt.% ELG in the mesoporous structure and on the surface of particles. It was assessed for anticancer effects against two colon cancer cells: HCT-116 and HT-29 for treatment with up to 200 µM. Results: Comparing to free ELG, we have shown a three times higher cancer inhibition. The lowest IC50 values were for HCT-116 (88.1 ± 0.1 µM) and HT-29 (77.6 ± 0.1 µM). When treated with free ELG, the values were 187.1 ± 0.1 µM and 300.0 ± 0.1 µM, respectively. MSNTRPELG enhanced apoptosis primarily by activating caspase-3, p53, and Bax while downregulating Bcl-2 in HCT-116 and HT-29 cells. It also inhibited receptor tyrosine kinases (HER2 and VEGFR2). Preliminary Western blot observations suggest suppression of B-RAF, C-RAF, and K-RAS oncogenes, with stronger inhibition by the nanoformulation than by free ELG. Conclusions: This work highlights the potential of MSNs to enhance the efficacy of natural prodrugs, particularly ELG, in cancer therapy.

Keywords: nanoformulation; ellagic acid; colon cancer; mesoporous silica nanoparticles; apoptosis; receptor tyrosine kinases

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MDPI and ACS Style

AbouAitah, K.; Nassrallah, A.; Soliman, A.A.F.; Swiderska-Sroda, A.; Chudoba, T.; Smalc-Koziorowska, J.; Kim, B.S.; Łojkowski, W. Enhanced Killing of Colon Cancer Cells by Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles Loaded with Ellagic Acid. Nanomaterials 2025, 15, 1547. https://doi.org/10.3390/nano15201547

AMA Style

AbouAitah K, Nassrallah A, Soliman AAF, Swiderska-Sroda A, Chudoba T, Smalc-Koziorowska J, Kim BS, Łojkowski W. Enhanced Killing of Colon Cancer Cells by Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles Loaded with Ellagic Acid. Nanomaterials. 2025; 15(20):1547. https://doi.org/10.3390/nano15201547

Chicago/Turabian Style

AbouAitah, Khaled, Amr Nassrallah, Ahmed A. F. Soliman, Anna Swiderska-Sroda, Tadeusz Chudoba, Julita Smalc-Koziorowska, Beom Soo Kim, and Witold Łojkowski. 2025. "Enhanced Killing of Colon Cancer Cells by Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles Loaded with Ellagic Acid" Nanomaterials 15, no. 20: 1547. https://doi.org/10.3390/nano15201547

APA Style

AbouAitah, K., Nassrallah, A., Soliman, A. A. F., Swiderska-Sroda, A., Chudoba, T., Smalc-Koziorowska, J., Kim, B. S., & Łojkowski, W. (2025). Enhanced Killing of Colon Cancer Cells by Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles Loaded with Ellagic Acid. Nanomaterials, 15(20), 1547. https://doi.org/10.3390/nano15201547

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Enhanced Killing of Colon Cancer Cells by Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles Loaded with Ellagic Acid

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