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Cervical cancer remains a significant global health burden, particularly in low- and middle-income countries, necessitating the development of effective localized therapeutic strategies. The present study focuses on the Quality by Design (QbD)-driven development and optimization of an apigenin-loaded chitosan-tethered in situ cubosomal gel for enhanced management of cervical cancer. Apigenin, a potent flavonoid with anticancer and anti-angiogenic properties, suffers from poor aqueous solubility and limited bioavailability, which restricts its clinical application. To overcome these limitations, cubosomal nanocarriers were formulated using glyceryl monooleate and Pluronic® F127, and optimized via central composite design (CCD) by evaluating critical quality attributes, including particle size, polydispersity index (PDI), and % entrapment efficiency. The optimized cubosomes exhibited a particle size of 253.9 nm, a low PDI of 0.06, a zeta potential of -24.4 mV, and an entrapment efficiency of 84.1 ± 1.25%, indicating a stable and efficient delivery system. Transmission electron microscopy confirmed the presence of discrete, cubic nanostructures with uniform morphology. The incorporation of cubosomes into a thermosensitive in-situ gel and surface modification with chitosan significantly improved formulation stability and enabled controlled drug release. The MTT assay revealed superior cytotoxicity of the optimized gel (IC50 = 2.753 ± 0.05 μg/mL) compared to free AGN (IC50 = 6.618 ± 0.15 μg/mL). Confocal microscopy confirmed improved cellular uptake, and the CAM assay demonstrated significant antiangiogenic activity via VEGF/HIF-1α suppression. These findings highlight the potential of CHT-AGN-CB-gel as a promising localized delivery platform for cervical cancer management, offering sustained release and reduced systemic toxicity.
ABSTRACT The monkeypox virus (MPXV) has recently risen to be a significant global health threat and currently there are no approved antiviral agents, which makes it necessary to develop new antiviral strategies. In this study, we employed in silico techniques to investigate whether bacteriocins could be potent inhibitors of the MPXV DNA polymerase (MPDP). At first, the MPXV DNA polymerase enzyme chain was extracted from the Cryo‐EM structure of MPXV DNA replication complex and was then assessed using SWISS‐MODEL/QMEAN for structural quality. The structures of selected bacteriocins were either retrieved from the Protein Data Bank or predicted using AlphaFold. The quality of these predicted models was measured by LGscore. Moreover, the physicochemical properties of the selected bacteriocins, such as Sakacin P and Mundticin KS, were analyzed to assess their molecular stability and compatibility with the molecular docking process. The results of protein‐peptide docking simulations on the HADDOCK platform showed that among all the bacteriocins tested, Sakacin P and Mundticin KS had the highest binding affinities toward MPXV DNA polymerase. The analysis of the docking experiments also revealed vital stabilizing interactions, such as the formation of hydrogen bonds, ionic linkages, and π–π stacking, which were crucial in the strength of the protein–ligand complexes. Subsequently, the molecular dynamics (MD) simulations further confirmed the stability of the protein–bacteriocin complexes. Our results indicate that bacteriocins, especially Sakacin P and Mundticin KS, can be considered potential antiviral agents against MPXV by interfering with its DNA replication mechanism. The present work shall serve as a reference for future laboratory testing and for the promising innovation of bacteriocin‐based drugs targeting MPXV.