Cetrimonium Bromide (CTAB), a common used surfactant, act as a drug solubilizer with intrinsic antibacterial properties [1]. Cetrimonium Bromide can reduce the germination rate of Brassica campestris, affect the root elongation after seed germination, decrease the chlorophyll content in plant leaves, and increase the antioxidant enzyme activity of plants[2]. Cetrimonium Bromide has been widely used for the rapid extraction of nucleic acids from plant tissues [3].
In vitro, Cetrimonium Bromide treatment for 48 hours significantly inhibited the viability of HOS, MG63 and U2OS cells, with IC50 values of 4.949, 3.500 and 4.212µM respectively[4]. 5.0μM Cetrimonium Bromide treatment for 16 hours significantly reduced the adhesion of SCC4 cells and altered cell morphology[5]. Treatment with 10µM Cetrimonium Bromide for 48 hours resulted in an increase in the number of apoptotic cells in NDRG1-deficient DU-145 cells, accompanied by an increase in cleaved PARP levels[6].
In vivo, Cetrimonium Bromide treatment (5mg/kg/day; i.p.) for 5 consecutive days can reduce the tumor-forming ability of FaDu cell-bearing mice and slow down tumor growth[7]. Cetrimonium Bromide (13.7mmol/kg) was injected via tail vein once every three days for 30 days, which significantly reduced the metastasis of breast cancer from the 4T1 orthotopic breast cancer model in mice to the lungs[8].
References:
[1] Carvalho G C, Marena G D, Karnopp J C F, et al. Cetyltrimethylammonium bromide in the synthesis of mesoporous silica nanoparticles: General aspects and in vitro toxicity[J]. Advances in Colloid and Interface Science, 2022, 307: 102746.
[2] Song U, Kim H E. Assessing the phytotoxicity of cetrimonium bromide in plants using eco-physiological parameters[J]. Journal of Ecology and Environment, 2016, 40(1): 14.
[3] Allen G C, Flores-Vergara M A, Krasynanski S, et al. A modified protocol for rapid DNA isolation from plant tissues using cetyltrimethylammonium bromide[J]. Nature protocols, 2006, 1(5): 2320-2325.
[4] Da W, Tao L, Zhu Y. The inhibitory effect of CTAB on human osteosarcoma through the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway[J]. International Journal of Oncology, 2021, 59(1): 42.
[5] Yue C H, Chen C H, Pan Y R, et al. Cetyltrimethylammonium bromide disrupts mesenchymal characteristics of human tongue squamous cell carcinoma SCC4 cells through modulating canonical TGF-β/Smad/miR-181b/TIMP3 signaling pathway[J]. Anticancer Research, 2021, 41(12): 6095-6104.
[6] Wissing M D, Mendonca J, Kim E, et al. Identification of cetrimonium bromide and irinotecan as compounds with synthetic lethality against NDRG1 deficient prostate cancer cells[J]. Cancer Biology & Therapy, 2013, 14(5): 401-410.
[7] Ito E, Yip K W, Katz D, et al. Potential use of cetrimonium bromide as an apoptosis-promoting anticancer agent for head and neck cancer[J]. Molecular pharmacology, 2009, 76(5): 969-983.
[8] Li N, Chen Y, Yang Y, et al. Cetyltrimethylammonium bromide inhibits the metastasis of breast cancer to the lungs by inhibiting epithelial–mesenchymal transition[J]. Biocell, 2022, 46(6): 1473.