Chitosan/Agarose/Graphitic Carbon Nitride Nanocomposite As an Efficient Ph-Sensitive Drug Delivery System for Anticancer Curcumin Releasing Publisher



Rajabzadehkhosroshahi M¹ ; Pourmadadi M¹ ; Yazdian F² ; Rashedi H¹ ; Navaeinigjeh M^{3, 4} ; Rasekh B⁵
Source: Journal of Drug Delivery Science and Technology Published:2022

Abstract

As breast cancer is a common illness that leads to high death rates all over the world, achieving more efficient therapeutic ways such as novel drug delivery can be helpful. In this study, a novel pH-sensitive nanocarrier based on a composite of chitosan (CS)/agarose (AG)/graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) curcumin (Cur) unique properties was developed to deliver curcumin (Cur). Firstly, CS/AG and CS/AG/g-C3N4 hydrogels were prepared as the matrix of the nanocarriers, and Cur was entrapped, then water-in-oil-in-water (W/O/W) emulsification method was applied to form the final nanocarriers. XRD, FTIR, Zeta/DLS, and FESEM characterization analysis confirmed the chemical bonds between CS, AG, and g-C3N4, and also the interactions with the drug and 222 nm mean size was revealed for CS/AG/g-C3N4/Cur nanocomposites with spherical morphology. High Cur loading and entrapment efficiency were obtained. On the other hand, g-C3N4 incorporation with CS/AG enhanced them respectively from 42 to 54% and 83–94%. Release studies, demonstrated an excellent controlled pH-sensitive release profile, furthermore, g-C3N4 nanosheets ameliorated drug release from CS/AG/g-C3N4/Cur nanocarriers. In-vitro cytotoxicity was investigated via MTT assay and flow cytometry analysis. CS/AG/g-C3N4/Cur nanocomposites significantly decreased the viability of the cancer cells to 12% compared to free Cur. The cells treated with CS/AG/g-C3N4/Cur exhibited the most apoptosis rate of 77.8% in breast cancer cell line MCF-7, which reveals the high performance of the nanocomposites in the killing of cancer cells. © 2022 Elsevier B.V.