Doxorubicin loaded DNA aptamer linked myristilated chitosan nanogel for targeted drug delivery to prostate cancer

ABSTRACT

Recently, specific attention has been paid to aptamers, short DNA or RNA, as a tool for cancer diagnosis and therapy. In the present study MCS nanogels were prepared by Myristate Chitosan at 19 ratio and were characterized by several techniques. A selected ssDNA aptamer [Apt] capable of detecting LNCaP cells was linked to Myristilated Chitosan nanogels [Apt-MCS] by glutaraldehyde and loaded with Doxorubicin [DOX] to be used in targeted drug delivery against the Prostate cancer cells. LNCaP and PC-3 cells were treated with Apt-MCS-DOX complex and the binding efficiency was estimated by flow cytometry. The binding affinity of the selected aptamers was above 70% compared to the initial library. The loading capacity of the nanogel was as high as 97% and up to 40% of DOX were released from MCS within 15 days. Cytotoxicity of nanodrug on LNCaP cells was determined by MTT assay. Apt-MCS-DOX was specifically binded to LNCaP cells whereas it didn't show any specificity to PC-3 cells as a negative control. Both MCS-DOX and Apt-MCS-DOX showed a lethal effect on LNCaP cells. Our results can lead to an aptamer based simple and applicable technique for early diagnosis and treatment of cancerous cells