Antiproliferative activity of Dioclea violacea lectin in CaCO3 particles on cancer cells after controlled release

Cancer is a serious health problem mainly characterized by unregulated cell divisions. It is known that malign cells display cancer-specific glycans that can be recognized by lectins, proteins with capacity of specific binding to carbohydrates. One such protein is the Dioclea violacea lectin (DVL), a known antiproliferative lectin that has been applied in this work to create and optimize a methodology for a controlled-release system by adsorption of lectin into CaCO 3 particles. The system was tested by evaluating the cytotoxic effect of lectin particles against cervical cancer cells (HeLa) and compared to the non-conjugated lectin. DVL was adsorbed into CaCO 3 particles of two sizes (average of 3.6 μm and 0.7 μm), a low-cost, biocompatible and biodegradable material, and the effect of DVL/bioconjugates against HeLa cells has been investigated in vitro and in silico. The bioconjugates possessed adsorption and release compatible with the biological assays. Cells assays applying the bioconjugates demonstrated their cytotoxicity, with a stronger effect compared to the free lectin. In conclusion, the anticancer potential of DVL against HeLa cells has been increased by the construction and application of a controlled-release system based on the adsorption of the lectin on CaCO 3 particles with a relatively simple protocol. Also, the present data demonstrate the potential of lectin–particle bioconjugates as agents in cancer research and suggest an easy and low-cost methodology that can be extended to other lectins/proteins. Graphical abstract