A folic acid-conjugated zinc oxide-chitosan nanocomposite achieved a doxorubicin loading capacity of 72% and released ~60% of the drug after 60 minutes of ultrasound exposure.
A novel folic acid-conjugated zinc oxide-chitosan nanocomposite demonstrates efficient doxorubicin loading and ultrasound-responsive controlled release in vitro.
Introduction: Cancer is one of the most devastating diseases in the world. Many nanostructures have been used as carriers in cancer therapy. Biodegradable polymer nanocomposites as controlled drug delivery systems have received considerable attention. The biocompatible polymer chitosan holds great promise for use in this area. Doxorubicin (DOX) is an effective chemotherapeutic drug; however, chemotherapy drugs cause severe side effects. Thus, it is urgent to prepare drugloaded nanocarriers. Methods: In the present work, a new carrier based on chitosan–zinc oxide nanoparticles conjugated with folic acid by electrostatic interaction (FA-ZnO-CS) has been reported for loading and release of DOX. The characterization of DOX@FA-ZnO-CS was performed by UV–Vis, Raman, FT-IR, FESEM, and electrochemical methods. Moreover, the effect of ultrasound wave beams was investigated for controlling DOX release from the DOX@FA-ZnO-CS nanohybrid. Results: The results showed that FA-ZnO-CS is an efficient carrier with a DOX loading capacity of 72% after 3 h. In the drug-release study, 2.5% of DOX was released at pH 7.4 after 12 h, while 6.4% of DOX was released at pH 4.5. Additionally, the data on the ultrasound effect showed that ~60% of DOX was released after 60 min exposure to ultrasound waves. Conclusion: This study demonstrates the potential of developing controlled drug delivery systems for cancer treatment.
Miri et al. (Tue,) conducted a other in Cancer. Folic acid-conjugated zinc oxide-chitosan nanocomposite (FA-ZnO-CS) loaded with Doxorubicin was evaluated on DOX loading capacity. A folic acid-conjugated zinc oxide-chitosan nanocomposite achieved a doxorubicin loading capacity of 72% and released ~60% of the drug after 60 minutes of ultrasound exposure.