Fig. 4
Therapeutic effect of the apMNKQ2@PEI–IONP formulation. a MDA-MB-231 cells were inoculated into the right flank of athymic nude mice and once the tumors reached ~ 200 mm3, the mice were randomized and treated with five doses of the corresponding formulation. Tumor growth curve over 18 days from the beginning of the treatment, normalizing the tumor volumes to the initial volume. The arrows indicate the days of administration: two-way ANOVA, **p < 0.01. b Tumor iron content from animals sacrificed 18 days after the first treatment determined by ICP and normalized to the corresponding tumor weight: two-tailed Mann–Whitney test, *p < 0.05, n = 3 per group. c Hepatic enzyme levels in the serum from treated mice. d Blood cell counts in treated animals: red blood cells (RBC), white blood cells (WBC), and platelets. e Subpopulations of the white blood cells in the treated mice