Chitosan-Coated Halloysite Nanotubes As Vehicle for Controlled Drug Delivery to MCF-7 Cancer Cells In Vitro
Date
2021
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
MDPI
Abstract
The aim of the work is to improve the release properties of curcumin onto human breast
cancer cell lines using coated halloysite nanotubes (HNTs) with chitosan as a polycation. A loading
efficiency of 70.2% (w/w) was attained for loading 4.9 mg of the drug into 0.204 g bed volume of
HNTs using the vacuum suction method. Results acquired from Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET),
Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning
electron spectroscopy (SEM), zeta potential, and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) indicated the
presence of the drug and the biopolymer in and around the nanotubes. The release properties of
drug-loaded HNTs (DLHNTs) and chitosan-coated drug-loaded HNTs (DLHNTs-CH) were evaluated.
The release percentages of DLHNTs and DLHNTs-CH after 6 h were 50.7 and 37%, respectively.
Based on the correlation coefficients obtained by fitting the release nature of curcumin from the two
samples, the Korsmeyer-Peppas model was found to be the best-fitted model. In vitro cell viability
studies were carried out on the human breast cancer cell line MCF-7, using the MTT and trypan
blue exclusion assays. Prior to the Trypan blue assay, the IC50 of curcumin was determined to
be ∼30 µM. After 24 h of incubation, the recorded cell viability values were 94, 68, 57, and 51% for
HNTs, DLHNTs-CH, DLHNTs, and curcumin, respectively. In comparison to the release studies,
it could be deducted that sustained lethal doses of curcumin were released from the DLHNTs-CH
within the same time. It is concluded from this work that the “burst release” of naked drugs could be
slowly administered using chitosan-coated HNTs as potential drug carriers.
Description
Research Article
Keywords
curcumin, halloysite nanotubes, chitosan, breast cancer cell line, sustained and targeted realease