Fabrication of folate‐phytosterol‐carboxymethyl cellulose nanoparticles derived from plant material as carrier of anticancer drug

Abstract

In this work, folate-phytosterol-carboxymethyl cellulose nanoparticles (FPCMC NPs) derived from plant material were fabricated and investigated as carrier of hydrophobic anticancer drugs. Firstly, hydrophobic phytosterol was grafted onto the framework of water-soluble carboxymethyl cellulose. Then folate, as tumor-targeting ligand, was coupled to the phytosterol-carboxymethyl cellulose to become self-assembled FPCMC NPs. The physicochemical properties of the fabricated FPCMC NPs were characterized. Doxorubicin (DOX) was selected as model anticancer drug that was entrapped in prepared FPCMC NPs with satisfactory loading content (7%) and loading efficiency (71.2%). The in vitro drug release test showed that the release amount of DOX from drug-loaded FPCMC NPs at pH 5.3 was much higher than that at pH 6.5 or pH 7.4. The research results indicated that the fabricated FPCMC NPs had the potential as nanocarrier of hydrophobic anticancer drugs for further experimental study.