Dual Therapeutic Targeting of Lung Infection and Carcinoma Using Lactoferrin-Based Green Nanomedicine

In view of the promising applications of nanoparticles in drug delivery, this study highlights the fabrication of new bioactive green protein–polysaccharide nanocomplexes with significant antibacterial and antitumor efficacies. We preformulated the water-insoluble drugs Quercetin (Quer) and Resveratrol (Res) as water-soluble nanocrystals to facilitate their entrapment in the electrostatic lactoferrin–chondroitin (Lf-ChS) nanocomplex. Quer and Res were physically entrapped in the Lf-ChS nanomatrix with high encapsulation efficiencies (EE %) of 85.2 and 90.1% w/w for Quer and Res, respectively. The in vitro synergetic antibacterial effects of the studied compounds against all bacterial strains were confirmed. Res-Quer Lf-ChS NPs revealed an enhanced cytotoxic effect against A549 lung cancer cells. A new model of polymicrobial lung infection was designed, where treatment with Res-Quer Lf-ChS NPs (233.5 ± 6.59 nm) resulted in a marked decline of 3.2 log units in bacterial counts. In the lung tumor model, the potent antitumor efficacy of the developed Res-Quer Lf-ChS NPs was demonstrated by a noticeable decline in both lung weight and the biomarkers compared to the positive control group that did not receive any treatment. In conclusion, the green Res-Quer Lf-ChS NPs possess antibacterial and antitumor attributes for potential lung infection and tumor therapy.