Bioconjugated solid lipid nanoparticles (SLNs) for targeted prostate cancer therapy

[Display omitted] •Transferrin – conjugated solid lipid nanoparticles (SLNS) for active targeting in prostate cancer.•Tf-CRC-SLN presented substantial antiproliferative activity in LNCaP cells.•Conjugate CRC – SLNs showed improved apoptotic activity compared to CRC - SLNs.•SLNs showed significant tumour regression in animal trials after 4 weeks. Prostate cancer is one of the prominent causes of cancer mortality in men all over the world and a challenge to treat. In this study, transferrin (Tf) bioconjugated solid lipid nanoparticles (SLNs) were developed and loaded with curcumin (CRC) for active targeting of prostate cancer cells. Curcumin is an anticancer agent, but its clinical applications are impeded due to the poor water solubility and bioavailability. Prepared blank Tf-SLNs showed minimal cytotoxicity while Tf-CRC-SLNs demonstrated significant in-vitro anti-proliferative activity compared to CRC-SLNs alone. Cellular uptake of Tf-CRC-SLNs were found to be significantly higher (p