pH-responsive Drug Delivery Research Articles

RETRACTED: The synthesis of sulfate doped hydroxyapatite for enhanced drug loading and chemotherapeutic drug delivery towards lung cancer treatment

Abstract Tumor-targeting chemotherapeutic drug delivery platforms based on pH stimulus and “smart” drug nanocarriers have received increasing interest in precise control of spatial and temporal drug release to target lung cancer cells and reduce serious side effects compared to conventional cancer chemotherapy. Incorporation of bioactive targeting agent into drug nanocarriers offers new opportunities to improve the targeting specificity and maximize the anti-cancer therapeutic effects. Up to date, there has been limited study on the construction of effective pH-responsive tumor-targeting drug delivery systems based on bioactive targeting agents. Herein, we report the preparation of highly porous sulfate doped HAp (S-HAp) nanospheres via a facile hydrothermal approach, and apply surface-modified S-HAp nanospheres with PEG and folic acid (FA) as novel drug nanocarriers for effective pH-responsive chemotherapeutic drug delivery towards lung cancer treatment. The drug release profile shows anti-cancer doxorubicin (DOX) loaded S-HAp/PEG/FA/DOX display effective pH-triggered drug release under small pH variations. The extremely high surface area and FA surface functionalization enable a high drug loading capacity and strong anti-cancer killing effects. This is the first demonstration of highly porous sulfate doped HAp nanospheres with FA modification as biodegradable carriers for drug delivery. We believe this work can be extended to other drug carrier designs as well as pH-responsive nanoplatform construction for effective tumor-targeting cancer therapy.

Designing a pH-responsive drug delivery system for the release of black-carrot anthocyanins loaded in halloysite nanotubes for cancer treatment

Anthocyanins extracted from black-carrot were encapsulated into halloysite nanotubes (HNT) as a potential carrier for the first time. Anthocyanins were loaded into HNT under vacuum conditions. TEM images indicated the successful entrance of anthocyanins into the lumen of HNT. Anthocyanins loading efficiency was determined to be 4% using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). XRD patterns showed that all reflections shifted to higher values for HNT loaded with anthocyanins compared to pure HNT which indicates reduced d-value of the crystalline forms. In vitro release of anthocyanins was studied under gastrointestinal conditions using the pH-differential method. The drug release from HNT was modeled and based on R2 values, the Korsmeyer-Peppas model was introduced as the best model predicting the release behavior. Cytotoxic effects of the samples against MCF-7 human breast cancer and HT-29 colon cancer cell lines were evaluated using SRB assay. The cell viability was reduced by 2 folds against anthocyanins-loaded HNT compared to pure anthocyanins in both cell lines. Anthocyanins-loaded HNT is suggested as a promising pH-responsive drug delivery system for the treatment of cancer.

Facile preparation of succinylated-zein-ZIF-8 hybrid for enhanced stability and pH-responsive drug delivery

Zein nanoparticles have good prospects as a pharmaceutical carrier but limited in further application by its poor stability and re-dispersibility. To obtain high stability and pH-responsive drug delivery, succinylated-zein (Suc-zein) was synthesized by nucleophilic substitution reaction, the material obtained was used to prepare Suc-zein nanoparticles (SZs). The SZs prepared not only had good dispersibility but showed better stability than zein particles on pH, storage and salinity. After loading indomethacin (Indo) into zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 (ZIF-8), the core-shelled Indo-Suc-zein-ZIF-8 (Indo-SZZs) were fabricated by coating Suc-zein onto the surface of ZIF-8 with better stability and high drug loading. Indo-SZZs were pH-responsive and sustained a drug release profile in a simulated environment. Also SZZs presented as being non-toxic, having good biocompatibility and good cellular up-take performance, and the cytotoxicity of Indo-SZZs was significantly higher than that of Indo. This provides a new insight into the preparation of a zein-based oral drug delivery system.

In Situ Biomimetic Mineralization on ZIF-8 for Smart Drug Delivery.

The exploration of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) with good biocompatibility and physiological stability as carrier platforms for biomedical applications is of great importance but remains challenging. Herein, we developed an in situ biomimetic mineralization strategy on zeolitic imidazolate framework (ZIF) nanocrystals to construct a drug release system with favorable cytocompatibility, improved stability, and pH responsiveness. With lysozyme (Lys) wrapped on the surface of Zn-based ZIF (ZIF-8), Lys/ZIF-8 could strongly bond metal ions to promote nucleation and growth of bone-like hydroxyapatite (HAp), leading to formation of HAp@Lys/ZIF-8 composites. In vitro investigations indicate that the composites with a hollow Lys/ZIF-8 core and a HAp shell exhibited a high drug-loading efficiency (56.5%), smart pH-responsive drug delivery, cytocompatibility, and stability under physiological conditions. The proposed biomimetic mineralization strategy for designing MOFs-based composites may open a new avenue to construct advanced delivery systems in the biomedical field.

Green Synthesized Montmorillonite/Carrageenan/Fe3O4 Nanocomposites for pH-Responsive Release of Protocatechuic Acid and Its Anticancer Activity.

Discovery of a novel anticancer drug delivery agent is important to replace conventional cancer therapies which are often accompanied by undesired side effects. This study demonstrated the synthesis of superparamagnetic magnetite nanocomposites (Fe3O4-NCs) using a green method. Montmorillonite (MMT) was used as matrix support, while Fe3O4 nanoparticles (NPs) and carrageenan (CR) were used as filler and stabilizer, respectively. The combination of these materials resulted in a novel nanocomposite (MMT/CR/Fe3O4-NCs). A series of characterization experiments was conducted. The purity of MMT/CR/Fe3O4-NCs was confirmed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis. High resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) analysis revealed the uniform and spherical shape of Fe3O4 NPs with an average particle size of 9.3 ± 1.2 nm. Vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) analysis showed an Ms value of 2.16 emu/g with negligible coercivity which confirmed the superparamagnetic properties. Protocatechuic acid (PCA) was loaded onto the MMT/CR/Fe3O4-NCs and a drug release study showed that 15% and 92% of PCA was released at pH 7.4 and 4.8, respectively. Cytotoxicity assays showed that both MMT/CR/Fe3O4-NCs and MMT/CR/Fe3O4-PCA effectively killed HCT116 which is a colorectal cancer cell line. Dose-dependent inhibition was seen and the killing was enhanced two-fold by the PCA-loaded NCs (IC50–0.734 mg/mL) compared to the unloaded NCs (IC50–1.5 mg/mL). This study highlights the potential use of MMT/CR/Fe3O4-NCs as a biologically active pH-responsive drug delivery agent. Further investigations are warranted to delineate the mechanism of cell entry and cancer cell killing as well as to improve the therapeutic potential of MMT/CR/Fe3O4-NCs.

NIR II-Excited and pH-Responsive Ultrasmall Nanoplatform for Deep Optical Tissue and Drug Delivery Penetration and Effective Cancer Chemophototherapy.

The limited tumor tissue penetration of many nanoparticles remains a formidable challenge to their therapeutic efficacy. Although several photonanomedicines have been applied to improve tumor penetration, the first near-infrared window mediated by the low optical tissue penetration depth severely limits their anticancer effectiveness. To achieve deep optical tissue and drug delivery penetration, a near-infrared second window (NIR-II)-excited and pH-responsive ultrasmall drug delivery nanoplatform was fabricated based on BSA-stabilized CuS nanoparticles (BSA@CuS NPs). The BSA@CuS NPs effectively encapsulated doxorubicin (DOX) via strong electrostatic interactions to form multifunctional nanoparticles (BSA@CuS@DOX NPs). The BSA@CuS@DOX NPs had an ultrasmall size, which allowed them to achieve deeper tumor penetration. They also displayed stronger NIR II absorbance-mediated deep optical tissue penetration than that of the NIR I window. Moreover, the multifunctional nanoplatform preferentially accumulated in tumor sites, induced tumor hyperthermia, and generated remarkably high ROS levels in tumor sites upon NIR-II laser (1064 nm) irradiation. More importantly, our strategy achieved excellent synergistic effects of chemotherapy and phototherapy (chemophototherapy) under the guidance of photothermal imaging. The developed nanoparticles also showed good biocompatibility and bioclearance properties. Therefore, our work demonstrated a facile strategy for fabricating a multifunctional nanoplatform that is a promising candidate for deep tumor penetration as an effective antitumor therapy.

Calcium-mineralized polypeptide nanoparticle for intracellular drug delivery in osteosarcoma chemotherapy

The acidic microenvironments of tumor tissue and cells provide an opportunity for the development of pH-responsive drug delivery systems in cancer therapy. In this work, we designed a calcium carbonate (CaCO3)-core-crosslinked nanoparticle of methoxy poly(ethylene glycol)-block-poly(l-glutamic acid) through mineralization for intracellular delivery of doxorubicin (DOX), referred to as CaNP/DOX. CaNP/DOX exhibited high drug loading capability, uniform nanoparticle size, and pH-dependent DOX release. In the meantime, the enhanced cell uptake, superior cytotoxicity toward mouse osteosarcoma K7 cells, extended circulation half-life, and improved accumulation of DOX in K7 allograft tumor from CaNP/DOX were also demonstrated. More interestingly, CaNP/DOX displayed improved antitumor effect and reduced side effects against the K7 osteosarcoma-allografted mouse model and the 143B orthotopic osteosarcoma mouse model. Given the superior properties of Ca-mineralized polypeptide nanoparticle for intracellular drug delivery, the smart drug delivery system showed strong competitiveness in clinical chemotherapy of cancers.

Reversible pH Responsive Bovine Serum Albumin Hydrogel Sponge Nanolayer.

A pH dependent reversible sponge like behavior of a bovine serum albumin (BSA) nanolayer adsorbed at the gold-saline interface is revealed by quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation (QCM-D), atomic force microscope (AFM) and contact angle measurements. During the saline rinsing cycles, the BSA layer adsorbs water molecules at pH 7.0 and releases them at pH 4.5. The phenomenon remains constant and reproducible upon multiple rinsing cycles. The BSA layer thickness also increases upon rinsing with saline at pH 7.0 and reverses back to its original thickness at pH 4.5. Varying ionic strength with water further desorbs more water molecules from the BSA layer, which decreases its mass and thickness. However, upon both pH and ionic strength changes, all the BSA molecules remain adsorbed irreversibly at the gold interface and only the sorption of water molecules occurs. The study aims at engineering high efficiency pH-responsive biodiagnostics and drug delivery systems.

Advances in the Design of pH-Sensitive Cubosome Liquid Crystalline Nanocarriers for Drug Delivery Applications.

Nanostructure bicontinuous cubic phase self-assembled materials are receiving expanding applications as biocompatible delivery systems in various therapeutic fields. The functionalization of cubosome, spongosome, hexosome and liposome nanocarriers by pH-sensitive lipids and/or pH-sensitive polymer shells offers new opportunities for oral and topical drug delivery towards a new generation of cancer therapies. The electrochemical behavior of drug compounds may favor pH-triggered drug release as well. Here, we highlight recent investigations, which explore the phase behavior of mixed nonlamellar lipid/fatty acid or phospholipid systems for the design of pH-responsive and mucoadhesive drug delivery systems with sustained-release properties. X-ray diffraction and small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) techniques are widely used in the development of innovative delivery assemblies through detailed structural analyses of multiple amphiphilic compositions from the lipid/co-lipid/water phase diagrams. pH-responsive nanoscale materials and nanoparticles are required for challenging therapeutic applications such as oral delivery of therapeutic proteins and peptides as well as of poorly water-soluble substances. Perspective nanomedicine developments with smart cubosome nanocarriers may exploit compositions elaborated to overcome the intestinal obstacles, dual-drug loaded pH-sensitive liquid crystalline architectures aiming at enhanced therapeutic efficacy, as well as composite (lipid/polyelectrolyte) types of mucoadhesive controlled release colloidal cubosomal formulations for the improvement of the drugs’ bioavailability.

Recent Advances in Asialoglycoprotein Receptor and Glycyrrhetinic Acid Receptor-Mediated and/or pH-Responsive Hepatocellular Carcinoma- Targeted Drug Delivery.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) seriously affects human health, especially, it easily develops multi-drug resistance (MDR) which results in treatment failure. There is an urgent need to develop highly effective and low-toxicity therapeutic agents to treat HCC and to overcome its MDR. Targeted drug delivery systems (DDS) for cancer therapy, including nanoparticles, lipids, micelles and liposomes, have been studied for decades. Recently, more attention has been paid to multifunctional DDS containing various ligands such as polymer moieties, targeting moieties, and acid-labile linkages. The polymer moieties such as poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG), chitosan (CTS), hyaluronic acid, pullulan, poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO), poly(propylene oxide) (PPO) protect DDS from degradation. Asialoglycoprotein receptor (ASGPR) and glycyrrhetinic acid receptor (GAR) are most often used as the targeting moieties, which are overexpressed on hepatocytes. Acid-labile linkage, catering for the pH difference between tumor cells and normal tissue, has been utilized to release drugs at tumor tissue. This review provides a summary of the recent progress in ASGPR and GAR-mediated and/or pH-responsive HCC-targeted drug delivery. The multifunctional DDS may prolong systemic circulation, continuously release drugs, increase the accumulation of drugs at the targeted site, enhance the anticancer effect, and reduce side effects both in vitro and in vivo. But it is rarely used to investigate MDR of HCC; therefore, it needs to be further studied before going into clinical trials.

Albumin-gated zwitterion-stabilized mesoporous silica nanorod as a pH-responsive drug delivery system

Silica nanoparticles as drug delivery systems (DDS) have received huge attention in nanomedicine research. However, their drug release processes were usually discussed in the absence of proteins, which are abundant in real delivery media and likely to affect the release behaviors. In this work, novel pH-sensitive silica-based DDSs were constructed using the endogenous protein, human serum albumin (HSA), as the gatekeeper, and their release properties in protein-containing media were measured for the first time. As-synthesized mesoporous silica nanorod (MSNR) was modified with zwitterions to suppress the nonspecific adsorption of protein and to improve the dispersity. HSA was fixed onto MSNR through drug-protein interactions and covalent bonds, respectively. Benzoic-imine bonds were introduced into the designs to realize pH responsiveness. The fluorescence quenching effect of drugs on HSA was used to monitor the drug release in simulated body fluids containing proteins. The results indicated that protein gating could effectively reduce premature release in normal blood environment. The endogenous protein capping, high dispersity and stability, considerable loading content, low cytotoxicity and favorable responsiveness to acidic microenvironment enable the present structures to be promising carriers for chemotherapy drugs.

PH-responsive mesoporous silica drug delivery system for targeted cancer chemotherapy

ABSTRACT In this paper, a kind of pH-responsive mesoporous silica targeted drug delivery system (DOX-loaded N-CQDs/HA gated pSiO2/MPEG-Glu) was designed and synthesised. In this system, active mesoporous silica (pSiO2) worked as a carrier material, methoxy polyethene glycol amine (MPEG) and L-glutamic acid (Glu) can be coupled and grafted to the surface of the pSiO2 drug carrier to improve the stability of the drug delivery system, nitrogen-doped carbon quantum dots (N-CQDs) and hyaluronic acid (HA) can inhibit the rapid release of drug. Ultraviolet (UV-Vis) spectrum showed that the drug-loading rate of DOX is 8.9%, the drug release in vitro study suggested that the prepared silica drug delivery system had significant pH-responsive and targeted DOX release, the drug release rate is 55.7% at pH = 5.0, which was much higher than the release of pH = 7.4; CLSM and MTT showed that the drug delivery system can enter into cancer cells through endocytosis and the DOX can act on cell nucleus, exhibiting a targeted therapy on cancer cells.

An Adjustable pH-Responsive Drug Delivery System Based on Self-Assembly Polypeptide-Modified Mesoporous Silica.

In this study, an adjustable pH-responsive drug delivery system using mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) as the host materials and the modified polypeptides as the nanovalves is reported. Since the polypeptide can self-assemble via electrostatic interaction at pH 7.4 and be disassembled by pH changes, the modified poly(l-lysine) and poly(l-glutamate) are utilized for pore blocking and opening in the study. Poly(l-lysine)-MSN (PLL-MSN) and poly(l-glutamate)-MSN (PLG-MSN) are synthesized via the ring opening polymerization of N-carboxyanhydrides onto the surface of mesoporous silica nanoparticles. The successful modification of the polypeptide on MSN is proved by Zeta potential change, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), solid state NMR, and MALDI-TOF MS. In vitro simulated dye release studies show that PLL-MSN and PLG-MSN can successfully load the dye molecules. The release study shows that the controlled release can be constructed at different pH by adjusting the ratio of PLL-MSN to PLG-MSN. Cellular uptake study indicates that the drug is detected in both cytoplasm and nucleus, especially in the nucleus. In vitro cytotoxicity assay indicates that DOX loaded mixture nanoparticles (ratio of PLL-MSN to PLG-MSN is 1:1) can be triggered for drug release in HeLa cells, resulting in 88% of cell killing.

A facile strategy to construct fluorescent pH-sensitive drug delivery vehicle

Aliphatic polyesters have led to significant advancements in drug delivery systems spanning decades owing to their biocompatibility and biodegradability. A series of pH-sensitive aliphatic polyesters were synthesized by facile enzymatic polymerization, which could be post-modified by click chemistry to form multifunctional graft copolymers. Typically, the hydrophilic methoxy polyethylene glycol (mPEG) and fluorescent coumarin were grafted onto the polyester backbone to constitute a multifunctional amphipathic graft copolymer, serving as a trackable pH-responsive drug delivery vehicle. This amphipathic graft copolymer could encapsulate hydrophobic doxorubicin (DOX) via self-assembly in aqueous solutions and performed superior controlled drug release. And the in vitro cellular uptake and cytotoxicity results showed the feasibility of this system for drug delivery application. Collectively, this copolymer offers a potential route of constructing controlled drug delivery system.

PH-Responsive Hybrid Jute Carbon Dot-Cotton Patch

This work demonstrates the development of a pH-responsive smart drug delivery system. Herein, we fabricated a hybrid cotton patch nanocomposite incorporated with jute carbon dots to carry out the d...

Transferrin Conjugated pH- and Redox-Responsive Poly(Amidoamine) Dendrimer Conjugate as an Efficient Drug Delivery Carrier for Cancer Therapy.

IntroductionA multifunctional redox- and pH-responsive polymeric drug delivery system is designed and investigated for targeted anticancer drug delivery to liver cancer.MethodsThe nanocarrier (His-PAMAM-ss-PEG-Tf, HP-ss-PEG-Tf) is constructed based on generation 4 polyamidoamine dendrimer (G4 PAMAM). Optimized amount of histidine (His) residues is grafted on the surface of PAMAM to obtain enhanced pH-sensitivity and proton-buffering capacity. Disulfide bonds (ss) are introduced between PAMAM and PEG to reach accelerated intracellular drug release. Transferrin (Tf) was applied to achieve active tumor targeting. Doxorubicin (DOX) is loaded in the hydrophobic cavity of the nanocarrier to exert its anti-tumor effect.ResultsThe results obtained from in vitro and in vivo evaluation indicate that HP-ss-PEG-Tf/DOX complex has pH and redox dual-sensitive properties, and exhibit higher cellular uptake and cytotoxicity than the other control groups. Flow cytometry and confocal microscopy display internalization of HP-ss-PEG-Tf/DOX via clathrin mediated endocytosis and effective endosomal escape in HepG2 cancer cells. Additionally, cyanine 7 labeled HP-ss-PEG-Tf conjugate could quickly accumulate in the HepG2 tumor. Remarkably, HP-ss-PEG-Tf/DOX present superior anticancer activity, enhanced apoptotic activity and lower heart and kidney toxicity in vivo.DiscussionThus, HP-ss-PEG-Tf is proved to be a promising candidate for effective targeting delivery of DOX into the tumor.

Functionalized crosslinked interpenetrating polymeric network for pH responsive colonic drug delivery

Current exploration unveils the promising role of arabinoxylan (AX) in targeted delivery of acid labile active moiety, by using methacrylic acid (MAA) as monomer, N′,N′-methylene-bis-acrylamide (MBA) as crosslinker and ammonium persulfate as initiator. Different feed composition of AX, MAA and MBA was blended to optimize hydrogels by free radical polymerization technique. Formulation AXMA2 showed maximum swelling and drug release at pH 7.4. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) depicts crosslinking of MAA and AX based. Thermal characterization confirmed the formation of thermodynamically stable hybrid. However, morphological studies showed porous architecture. The pH sensitivity of hydrogels has been affirmed by swelling dynamics, equilibrium swelling ratio (ESR), on–off switching and drug release studies in acidic and alkaline pH. Drug release studies showed controlled release of the perindopril erbumine from polymeric network. Crosslinked AX nexus can be used as promising carrier for the configuring and formulating targeted drug-delivery systems.

A novel one-pot strategy for fabrication of PEGylated MoS2 composites for pH responsive controlled drug delivery

Abstract Molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) is one of the most promising two-dimensional (2D) materials after graphene oxide. Its excellent properties make it promising for various applications, especially in the field of biomedicine owing to its small size, unique 2D morphology and photothermal conversion capacity. However, the lack of specific surface functional groups has still largely impeded their surface modification and for drug loading and controlled release. In this paper, the surface of MoS2 sheets was modified by hydrazine groups, which could form dynamic hydrazone bonds with CHO-PEG and doxorubicin hydrochloride (DOX) to construct the PEGylated MoS2 based drug delivery systems. The structure, thermal stability, surface morphology and particle size of MoS2 related materials were characterized by different equipment. The characterization results confirm that these functionalized MoS2 (MS-CO-NH) composites have been successfully prepared through the formation of dynamic bonds. On the other hand, the release of MS-P-D composites loaded with CHO-PEG and DOX showed that pH responsive behavior, and had a good sustained-release effect. More importantly, cell viability and internalization results showed that MS-CO-NH material had excellent biocompatibility. MS-P-D composite has good cancer treatment effect, and can transport DOX into HepG2 cells and slowly release DOX into the nucleus to kill cancer cells. In view of the results, we believe that this new MoS2-based vector is expected to be a candidate for controlling intracellular drug delivery and cancer treatment.

Self-Propelling Targeted Magneto-Nanobots for Deep Tumor Penetration and pH-Responsive Intracellular Drug Delivery

Self-propelling magnetic nanorobots capable of intrinsic-navigation in biological fluids with enhanced pharmacokinetics and deeper tissue penetration implicates promising strategy in targeted cancer therapy. Here, multi-component magnetic nanobot designed by chemically conjugating magnetic Fe3O4 nanoparticles (NPs), anti-epithelial cell adhesion molecule antibody (anti-EpCAM mAb) to multi-walled carbon nanotubes (CNT) loaded with an anticancer drug, doxorubicin hydrochloride (DOX) is reported. Autonomous propulsion of the nanobots and their external magnetic guidance is enabled by enriching Fe3O4 NPs with dual catalytic-magnetic functionality. The nanobots propel at high velocities even in complex biological fluids. In addition, the nanobots preferably release DOX in the intracellular lysosomal compartment of human colorectal carcinoma (HCT116) cells by the opening of Fe3O4 NP gate. Further, nanobot reduce ex vivo HCT116 tumor spheroids more efficiently than free DOX. The multicomponent nanobot’s design represents a more pronounced method in targeting tumors with self-assisted anticancer drug delivery for ‘far-reaching’ sites in treating cancers.

Synthesis and characterization of a pH responsive and mucoadhesive drug delivery system for the controlled release application of anti-cancerous drug

In this work a novel pH sensitive composite, polyacrylamide grafted succinyl chitosan intercalated bentonite (AAm-g-NB/SC) was prepared as a drug carrier system for the controlled delivery of paclitaxel. Characterization of the drug delivery system was carried out using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), thermal analysis etc. The equilibrium swelling behaviour of the composite was studied and the result showed a maximum at pH 7.4. The in vitro drug release study of paclitaxel indicated that about 15.6% of drug release was found to be occurred at pH 1.2 within 16 h, whereas about 82.5% of drug release was occurred at the intestinal pH condition of 7.4. In vitro biocompatibility study was performed and the result showed good biocompatibility of the composite in the concentration range 6.25–100 µg/mL. The cytotoxicity assay was carried out in cancerous cell line of Human colorectal Adenocarcinoma. Mucous glycoprotein assay study showed that the drug delivery system having good apparent adhering property towards mucin. The investigation indicated that paclitaxel, an anticancer drug can be successfully entrapped in the AAm-g-NB/SC composite for the controlled and targeted delivery for colorectal cancer therapy.