Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41149515›Full record

ArticleNanomaterials (Basel, Switzerland)2025

Enhanced Killing of Colon Cancer Cells by Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles Loaded with Ellagic Acid.

Khaled AbouAitah, Amr Nassrallah, Ahmed A F Soliman, Anna Swiderska-Sroda, Tadeusz Chudoba, Julita Smalc-Koziorowska, Beom Soo Kim, Witold Łojkowski

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Nanomaterials (Basel, Switzerland), 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Nano-encapsulatedRSC advances · 2026
    Article
  3. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Khaled AbouAitahDepartment of Chemical Engineering, Chungbuk National University, Cheongju 28644, Republic of Korea.ORCID 0000-0001-8413-6738
Amr NassrallahBiotechnology Program, Faculty of Basic Applied Science Institute, Egypt-Japan University of Science and Technology (E-JUST), New Borg El-Arab, Alexandria 21934, Egypt.
Ahmed A F SolimanPharmacognosy Department, Pharmaceutical and Drug Industries Research Institute, National Research Centre (NRC), 33 El-Behouth Street, Dokki, Giza 12622, Egypt.
Anna Swiderska-SrodaLaboratory of Nanostructures and Nanomedicine, Institute of High Pressure Physics, Polish Academy of Sciences, Sokolowska 29/37, 01-142 Warsaw, Poland.
Tadeusz ChudobaLaboratory of Nanostructures and Nanomedicine, Institute of High Pressure Physics, Polish Academy of Sciences, Sokolowska 29/37, 01-142 Warsaw, Poland.
Julita Smalc-KoziorowskaLaboratory of Semiconductor Characterization, Institute of High Pressure Physics, Polish Academy of Sciences, Sokolowska 29/37, 01-142 Warsaw, Poland.ORCID 0000-0002-1460-7861
Beom Soo KimDepartment of Chemical Engineering, Chungbuk National University, Cheongju 28644, Republic of Korea.ORCID 0000-0002-7251-7231
Witold ŁojkowskiLaboratory of Nanostructures and Nanomedicine, Institute of High Pressure Physics, Polish Academy of Sciences, Sokolowska 29/37, 01-142 Warsaw, Poland.ORCID 0000-0001-8521-0688

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundNatural compounds, including ellagic acid (ELG), are promising anticancer agents with low adverse effects. In this paper, we test in vitro the effectiveness of mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSN) as an ELG carrier against colon cancer.

methodsWe produced MSNs functionalized with triptycene (TRP) and loaded with ELG, further called MSNTRPELG nanoformulation. The nanoformulation contained over 11 wt.% TRP and approximately 25 wt.% ELG in the mesoporous structure and on the surface of particles. It was assessed for anticancer effects against two colon cancer cells: HCT-116 and HT-29 for treatment with up to 200 µM.

resultsComparing to free ELG, we have shown a three times higher cancer inhibition. The lowest IC50 values were for HCT-116 (88.1 ± 0.1 µM) and HT-29 (77.6 ± 0.1 µM). When treated with free ELG, the values were 187.1 ± 0.1 µM and 300.0 ± 0.1 µM, respectively. MSNTRPELG enhanced apoptosis primarily by activating caspase-3, p53, and Bax while downregulating Bcl-2 in HCT-116 and HT-29 cells. It also inhibited receptor tyrosine kinases (HER2 and VEGFR2). Preliminary Western blot observations suggest suppression of B-RAF, C-RAF, and K-RAS oncogenes, with stronger inhibition by the nanoformulation than by free ELG.

conclusionsThis work highlights the potential of MSNs to enhance the efficacy of natural prodrugs, particularly ELG, in cancer therapy.

Indexed as

apoptosiscolon cancerellagic acidmesoporous silica nanoparticlesnanoformulationreceptor tyrosine kinases

Identifiers

PMID41149515
PMCPMC12566911

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.