A Hybrid Nanosystem for Prostate Cancer Therapy: Codelivery of Enzalutamide and Curcumin via Selenium‐Embedded Mesoporous Silica and Chitosan Nanoparticles

Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer globally, causing ≈396,792 deaths in 2022. Early diagnosis and advanced drug delivery are vital to prevent its progression. This research leverages the anticancer properties of selenium nanoparticles and enzalutamide, a leading prostate cancer drug, by coencapsulating them within mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNPs). MSNPs offer advantages for drug delivery, including high surface accessibility and a tunable porous structure. The results indicated that MSNPs synthesized via solvent extraction, yielding a specific surface area of 1017.4 m2/g, a pore volume of 0.2531 cm3/g, and an average pore size of ≈10 nm, were superior to those obtained by calcination, which yielded a smaller pore size (≈3 nm). Enzalutamide was loaded into these selenium‐embedded MSNPs, achieving a drug loading efficiency of 76.3 ± 0.5%. Separately, curcumin was encapsulated in chitosan nanoparticles with high efficiency (83.2 ± 0.7%). The combined nanosystem enables pH‐responsive, gradual drug release that mimics the tumor microenvironment. MTT assays confirmed the drug‐loaded system exerts significantly stronger, time‐ and concentration‐dependent anticancer effects than the free drug. Furthermore, curcumin plays a vital role in enhancing anticancer efficacy and inducing apoptosis. This research demonstrates that the designed dual‐nanoparticle system is a promising candidate for targeted prostate cancer therapy.