Marine Bacterial Melanin-Conjugated Lipid Magnetic Nanoparticles And Its In-Vivo Anticancer Activity

Abstract

M-C-L-M-NPs were synthesized by chemical co-precipitation followed by lipid encapsulation and characterized using UV–Visible spectroscopy and HR-TEM. Male Wistar rats (n = 6/group) were divided into four groups: normal control, cancer control, 5-fluorouracil (20 mg/kg), and M-C-L-M-NPs (5 mg/kg). Skin carcinogenesis was induced using DMBA and croton oil for 16 weeks. Body weight, hematological parameters, inflammatory marker (TNF-α), and histopathological alterations were evaluated. Results: UV–Visible spectroscopy showed characteristic absorption between 250 and 380 nm, while HR-TEM confirmed spherical, uniformly distributed nanoparticles with minimal aggregation. Initial body weights were comparable among groups (147–153 g). At the end of the experiment, the cancer control group exhibited a marked reduction in body weight (≈123 g) compared with the normal control (≈179 g), whereas treatment with 5-fluorouracil (≈175 g) and M-C-L-M-NPs (≈177 g) preserved body weight. The M-C-L-M-NPs group showed the highest RBC count (≈5.8 × 10⁶ cells/µL) and hemoglobin level (≈14.5 g/dL) compared with the cancer control (≈5.1 × 10⁶ cells/µL; 10.8 g/dL). Serum TNF-α levels were markedly reduced from ≈43 pg/mL in the cancer control to ≈18 pg/mL following M-C-L-M-NPs treatment. Histopathological examination demonstrated substantial restoration of normal skin architecture with minimal inflammatory infiltration in the nanoparticle-treated group. Conclusion: Marine bacterial melanin-conjugated lipid magnetic nanoparticles exhibited superior anticancer efficacy, preserved hematological parameters, reduced inflammatory responses, and improved tissue architecture compared with conventional 5-fluorouracil, highlighting their potential as a promising nanotherapeutic platform for skin cancer treatment.