
The major objective of the present study is to incorporate a hydrophilic drug methotraxate within biodegradable polymer; poly (lactic acid) for the formulation of nanoparticles by solvent displacement technique. Three organic solvents such as Tetrahydrofuran (THF), Methanol and acetone were used in different ratios with water and all of them were characterized with respect to particle size and entrapment efficiency. Selected batches were studied for cytotoxicity using LNCaP, MCF- 7, A549, HELA cell line and normal Vero cell lines and 50% growth inhibitory concentration (IC50) values were found out for formulations. The activity of both free and nanoparticle-entrapped with methotraxate increased with increasing methotraxate concentration and incubation time from 24 hrs to 72 hrs. Whereas plain nanoparticles showed no change in viability of cancer cells. Based on IC50 values it was observed that after 24 hrs of incubation, 50% inhibitory concentration (IC50) for methotraxate loaded nanoparticle was 60.12 mMolar/ml whereas for free methotraxexate it was around 93.42 mMolar/ml which observed after 72 hrs for methotraxate loaded nanoparticle 27.36 mMolar/ml whereas for free methotraxexate 80.54 mMolar/ml. These data indicates that less concentration required for nanoparticulate formulation to kill cancer cells (lesser dose) compared to any conventional formulation.