Abstract
Nanocomposite Hydrogels are versatile and adaptable in drug delivery, suitable for various administrations. They offer prolonged and regulated drug release which makes them valuable in targeting cancer treatments. This study used the water/oil/water approach to construct a drug nanocarrier. It encapsulated hazelnut oil, serving as a protective and organic membrane that enveloped the nanocarrier and regulated drug release. Quercetin (QC), a potent flavonoid with potential therapeutic applications, faces challenges due to its hydrophobic nature and poor solubility. This approach presents a novel approach to enhance QC's solubility and stability by integrating it with copper carbon quantum dots (Cu-CQDs) into a pH-sensitive carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) and starch-based hydrogel nanocomposite. This system aims to improve QC delivery while minimizing adverse effects. The nanocomposite exhibited exceptional drug loading and encapsulation efficiencies of 47.00 % ± 0.45 and 86.25 % ± 0.75, respectively, ranking among the top-reported values for similar systems. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) was used to examine molecular interactions. X-ray diffraction (XRD) assessment demonstrated the presence of components beneficial for drug solubility enhancement at 2Θ = 17–24°, where QC's crystalline peaks are absent from the CMC/Starch/Cu-CQDs@QC XRD pattern. A particle size of 151.57 ± 37 nm is optimized for selectively targeting cancer cells, minimizing interaction with healthy cells, as revealed through DLS assessment. Morphological characteristics analyzed by FE-SEM support this observation as well. Zeta potential measurement (+38.8 mV) highlights nanocarrier stability. CMC/Starch/Cu-CQDs@QC displayed remarkable cytotoxicity against cancerous cells, reducing U87-MG cell viability to 48 % while maintaining high cell viability (92 %) for normal L929 cells. These results emphasize the promise of this nanocomposite as a QC drug delivery system by indicating improved anticancer efficacy with fewer adverse effects.
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