Folic acid-chitosan-alginate nanocomplexes for multiple delivery of chemotherapeutic agents

Abstract

A major challenge faced by researchers involved in the sphere of drug delivery is the development of innovative multidrug delivery systems. Herein, experimentation focused on preparing nanocomplexes based on chitosan and alginic acid with the purpose of allocating a combination of chemotherapeutic drugs, improving their efficacy and reducing dosage. In order to enhance targeting, conjugation with folic acid was performed. The prepared carriers exhibited a spherical shape with a diameter in the range 70–120 nm, a ζ-potential between 30 and 35 mV with good stability in human serum, and low hemolytic activity of up to 100 μg/mL. Over 800 μg of drugs per mg of carrier were loaded and released, displaying a pH-dependent trend with no physical, chemical and biological interferences, which benefited from the advantage of having full control over the given release of drug. In vitro studies performed on human epithelial cervix carcinoma cells and mouse fibroblast cells clearly demonstrated that said dual-loaded complexes showed greater cytotoxicity than single-loaded and free-drug formulations. The viability of the cells decreased, thereby confirming the primary role played by the targeting molecule. © 2018 Elsevier B.V.