Abstract
OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to develop sodium alginate-hyaluronic acid (SA-HA) composite microspheres for targeted doxorubicin (DOX) delivery in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) treatment. The research sought to address key limitations of current transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) agents by combining SA’s mechanical stability with HA’s tumor-targeting capability, while optimizing drug loading and release kinetics. RESULTS: The SA-HA microspheres exhibited enhanced physicochemical properties, including 28.4% lower porosity (SEM) and 3.6-fold higher swelling capacity (5.42% at 6 h) compared to SA controls. FTIR confirmed successful ionic crosslinking, while drug loading efficiency reached 89.2% - significantly higher than conventional SA systems. In vitro release studies demonstrated sustained DOX release (85.2 ± 3.1% at 24 h, first-order kinetics R² = 0.95), with superior cytotoxicity against HepG2 cells (IC50 = 0.48 ± 0.03 µg/mL vs. free DOX 1.12 ± 0.05 µg/mL, p < 0.05). These results validate SA-HA microspheres as a promising TACE-compatible platform for HCC therapy.