Bifunctional folic-conjugated aspartic-modified Fe₃O₄ nanocarriers for efficient targeted anticancer drug delivery.

ABSTRACT: Functionalization of nanocarriers has been considered the most promising way of ensuring an accurate and targeted drug delivery system. This study reports the synthesis of bifunctional folic-conjugated aspartic-modified Fe₃O₄ nanocarriers with an excellent ability to deliver doxorubicin (DOX), an anticancer drug, into the intercellular matrix. Here, the presence of amine and carboxylate groups enables aspartic acid (AA) to be used as an efficient anchoring molecule for the conjugation of folic acid (FA) (EDC-NHS coupling) and DOX (electrostatic interaction). Based on the results, surface functionalization showed little effect on the physicochemical properties of the nanoparticles but significantly influenced both the loading and release efficiency of DOX. This is prim

SUBMITTER: Khalil M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8981417 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature