Abstract
Designing an effective targeted anticancer drug delivery method is still a big challenge, since chemotherapeutics often cause a variety of undesirable side effects affecting normal tissues. This work presents the research on a novel system consisting of single walled carbon nanotubes (SWNT), dispersed with Congo Red (CR), a compound that forms self-assembled ribbon-like structures (SRLS) and anticancer drug doxorubicin (DOX). SWNT provide a large surface for binding of planar aromatic compounds, including drugs, while CR supramolecular ribbon-like assemblies can be intercalated by drugs, like anthracycline rings containing DOX. The mechanism of interactions in SWNT–CR–DOX triple system was proposed based on electrophoretic, spectral, Dynamic Light Scattering and scanning electron microscopy analyzes. The profile of drug release from the investigated system was evaluated using dialysis and Differential Scanning Calorimetry. The results indicate that ribbon-like supramolecular structures of CR bind to SWNT surface forming SWNT–CR complexes which finally bind DOX. The high amount of nanotube-bound CR greatly increases the capacity of the carrier for the drug. The high capacity for drug binding and possible control of its release (through pH changes) in the analyzed system may result in prolonged and localized drug action. The proposed SWNT–CR–DOX triple system meets the basic criteria that justifies its further research as a potential drug carrier.
Highlights
Chemotherapy, widely used in cancer treatment, is efficient in many cases but carries a high risk because of a poor selectivity of chemotherapeutics
Appropriate carriers serve to overcome the difficulties limiting the use of some drugs, including the lack of selectivity, low solubility at physiological conditions, limited penetration through cell membranes [1], and most of all, inability to surmount multidrug resistance (MDR) of cancer cells [2]
Drug carrier systems have been successfully used for transport of therapeutically active molecules, like drugs [3,4,5,6], nucleic acids [7,8], peptides [9], proteins [10] and others
Summary
Chemotherapy, widely used in cancer treatment, is efficient in many cases but carries a high risk because of a poor selectivity of chemotherapeutics. Appropriate carriers serve to overcome the difficulties limiting the use of some drugs, including the lack of selectivity, low solubility at physiological conditions, limited penetration through cell membranes [1], and most of all, inability to surmount multidrug resistance (MDR) of cancer cells [2]. Comparisons of the effects of drug administration with and without the carrier demonstrated many advantages of drug carrier systems, which include, among others, selective biodistribution, high capacity and controlled release. Drug carrier systems have been successfully used for transport of therapeutically active molecules, like drugs [3,4,5,6], nucleic acids [7,8], peptides [9], proteins [10] and others. Carbon nanotubes (CNT) have been described as a candidate carrier for chemotherapeutics [11,12,13]
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