Cellulose nanocrystals functionalized by folate-Conjugated cyclodextrin for targeted anti-cancer drug delivery system

Targeted drug delivery systems (TDDSs) have been exploited to improve the efficacy of anticancer agents by increasing their concentration in tumor cells relative to normal cells.1,2 This leads to administration of required amount of drug with low toxicities which usually occur with conventional chemotherapeutic agents.3 Herein, a TDDS based on nanoparticles transaminase of nanocrystalline cellulose (CNCs) which was prepared for cancer cell targeting. The nanoparticles transaminase then conjugated with carboxymethyl-β-cyclodextrin (CM-β-CD). The folic acid (FA) was then embedded into CD cavity via host guest interaction. Doxorubicin (DOX) an anticancer drug was introduced into nanocarier spheres. The properties of the prepared nanocarier were characterized by FT-IR, scanning electron microscope (SEM) and TGA. The in-vitro drug release and drug loading capacity were measured using UV spectroscopy.

Keywords:

Targeted drug delivery , Anti-cancer , Drug carriers , Cellulose nanocrystals , Natural polymers