Date of Award

10-31-2017

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Biological Science (MBioSci)

Department

Biology

First Advisor

Nawab Ali

Abstract

There are more than 60 isoforms of InsPs generated by phosphorylation and de-phosphorylation of inositol 1, 4, 5-trisphosphate (InsP3), a key cell-signaling molecule produced during G-protein-coupled receptor activation. Among InsPs, inositol hexakisphosphate (InsP6), also known as phytic acid (IP6), is the most abundant InsPs present in most cells. It plays a critical role in cellular differentiation, cell proliferation and apoptosis involving the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway. Several lines of studies have indicated the inhibitory activity of InsP6 in human and animal cancer cells via the inhibition of PI3K/Akt pathway. Increasing cellular contents of InsP6 is likely to inhibit cell proliferation and induce apoptosis, thus killing cancerous cells. To enhance cellular delivery of InsP6, in this study, we have encapsulated inositol hexakisphosphate (InsP6) into chitosan (CS) to produce a nanomaterial complex (CS:InsP6). This complex will facilitate the cellular delivery of InsP6 into cancer cells, which is otherwise difficult due to the highly negative charge present on InsP6. This nanomaterial complex can further help in understanding the role of InsP6 in the apoptotic process. We have established a procedure to encapsulate InsP6 with chitosan and characterized the encapsulated nanomaterial using physical and biochemical methods. We hypothesized that this complex would give a higher rate of apoptosis as compared to InsP6 alone in MCF-7 human breast cancer cells. More research into this area will further provide insight into the role of encapsulated InsP6 in developing a therapeutic application for cancer treatment.

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