17 Ther. Deliv. (2015) 6(1), 17–25 ISSN 2041-5990 Therapeutic Delivery Preliminary Communication part of 10.4155/TDE.14.99 © 2015 Future Science Ltd Aim: Our hypothesis was to prove that surface modifiers themselves can be used as stabilizers and that their entrapment efficiency is directly influenced by the type of stabilizers used. Materials & methods: Particle size and the polydispersity index of the nanoparticles (NPs) were measured by dynamic light scattering, whereas the morphology of the NPs was studied by scanning electron microscopy. Percentage nanoparticle yield, entrapment efficiency and drug loading capacity were measured by ultraviolet absorbance. The physical rigidity, robustness and drug releasing capability of these NPs were also assessed. Conclusion: Physiochemical characterization and the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay suggest that polysorbate 80 has the dual capability of being a stabilizer and a surface modifier in addition to having better drug entrapment properties than Pluronic ® 188. Disulfiram, the drug that was loaded on these NPs, is also observed for the first time to show significant anticancer potential against hepatocellular carcinoma (Hep3B) cell lines. Keywords:฀ anticancer฀potential฀•฀disulfram฀•฀PLGA฀nanoparticles฀•฀Pluronic฀188฀ •฀polysorbate฀80฀•฀stabilizers฀•฀Triton฀X-100 Polymeric nanoparticles (NPs) generally have three important components: a polymer, a stabilizer and a surface-modifying agent. The selection of the combination of stabiliz- ers and polymers is critical for the synthesis of poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) NPs that have maximum entrapment, stability and drug delivering capabilities of the said com- pound/drug. In addition, for the generation of biologically compatible NPs, stabilizers and surface modifications play an important role. PLGA is a linear chain of alternating lac- tic and glycolic acids that, upon entering the biological systems, become disintegrated in a phase manner mainly by hydrolytic enzymes and – to an extent – by physiological envi- ronmental factors, such as temperature and pH [1] . Surface modification of NPs helps with the evasion of the mononuclear phago- cytic system (MPS), thus improving travel time in the blood circulation [2] . Disulfiram (DSF) is a well-known antialcoholic drug [3] . The quest for the development of cost-effective anticancer drugs has led to the study of the antican- cer potentials of old, established drugs that have minimal side effects and are no longer patented. DSF has been reported to have significant anticancer effects through more than one pathway in a number of preclini- cal trials [4] . However, similarly to any drug, DSF may also have a generalized effect on the whole organism, rather than being more localized, which results in inefficient delivery and high interference from normal cells. Stabilizers have amphiphilic properties. The quality of the stabilizer may be modified based on the ratio of hydrophobic to hydro- philic entities in its composition. Pluronics are a family of nonionic surfactants that are made of polyoxypropylene (the hydrophobic entity) and polyoxyethylene (the hydrophilic entity). Pluronic ® 188 (Sigma Aldrich, Ban- galore, India) is composed of 80% polyoxy- ethylene, which is responsible for its hydro- philic properties that are necessary for it to Influence of stabilizers on the production of disulfiram-loaded poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) nanoparticles and their anticancer potential Muddasarul Hoda 1 , Shamim Akhtar Sufi 1 , Garima Shakya 1 , Kumarvel Mohan Kumar 1 & Rukkumani Rajagopalan* ,1,2 1 Department฀of฀Biochemistry฀ &฀Molecular฀Biology,฀School฀of฀Life฀ Sciences,฀Pondicherry฀University,฀ Puducherry฀605014,฀India 2 Department฀of฀Biotechnology,฀University฀ of฀Madras,฀Guindy฀Campus,฀Chennai,฀ Tamilnadu฀600025,฀India *Author฀for฀correspondence: Tel.:฀+91฀967฀7847337฀ Fax:฀+91฀413฀2655255 ruks2k2@yahoo.co.in