This work focused on engineering bi-functionalized nanoparticles (NPs) based on carbon dots (CDs) to improve early cancer detection and treatment. Therefore, using folic acid (FA) as a targeting agent, the CDs were prepared to deliver high concentrations (HC) of doxorubicin (DOX) and gemcitabine (GEM) covalently and non-covalently to cancer cells. The prepared FA-CDs-DOX/GEM-HC NPs were characterized using ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy, fluorescence spectroscopy, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Assessment of the drug loading capacity (DLC) and drug loading efficiency (DLE) indicated that the non-covalent NPs have low DLC but high DLE compared to the relatively low DLE and high DLC of covalent NPs. In vitro drug release studies showed that the DOX/GEM release rate was faster at pH 5.0 in the non-covalent FA-CDs-DOX/GEM-HC NPs than covalent. Also, the non-covalent FA-CDs-DOX-HC NPs showed greater percentage cumulative drug release and lower cell viability in the MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cell line compared to covalent.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ETSU/oai:dc.etsu.edu:etd-5675 |
| Date | 01 December 2022 |
| Creators | Tetteh, Michael |
| Publisher | Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University |
| Source Sets | East Tennessee State University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | Electronic Theses and Dissertations |
| Rights | Copyright by the authors. |
Page generated in 0.0017 seconds