Formulation and in vitro characterization of anticancer drugs encapsulated chitosan/multi-walled carbon nanotube nanocomposites

ABSTRACT

We aimed to combine the nanoscale structure with bio-molecules to open the door for novel biology and nanotechnologyapplications. Multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) was combined with the biocompatible polymer chitosan (Cs)producing the Cs/MWCNT nanocomposite and utilized as a drug carrier for three types of drugs, namely 5-fluorouracil,curcumin, and water-soluble curcumin derivative. The produced nanocomposite was with a homogenous well-definedstructure that proved by transmission electronic microscopy, FT-IR, X-ray diffraction, and thermal gravimetricanalysis. The results of cytotoxicity assay measurement showed that the curcumin encapsulated Cs or Cs/MWCNTnanocomposite presented higher toxicity towards MCF-7 cancer cells compared with RPE1 normal cells indicatingto the selective effectiveness of curcumin nanocomposite towards the destruction of the carcinogenic MCF-7 cells. Invitro release studies showed that Cs/MWCNT nanocomposite possesses better slow controlled release performancethan chitosan indicating that there is a strong association between the drug and CNTs which triggers the release of thedrug for controlled drug release purposes: