Biodegradable and thermo-sensitive chitosan-g-poly(N-vinylcaprolactam) nanoparticles as a 5-fluorouracil carrier

We developed a nanoformulation of 5-FU (5-fluorouracil) with biodegradable thermo-responsive chitosan-g-poly(N-vinylcaprolactam) biopolymer composite for its delivery to cancer cells The novel thermo-responsive graft co-polymeric nanoparticles (TRC-NPs) were prepared by ionic cross-linking method which showed a lower critical solution temperature (LCST) at 38 degrees C The 5-FU drug was incorporated into the carrier using cross-linking reaction The in vitro drug release showed prominent release above LCST Cytotoxicity assay showed TRC-NPs in the concentration range of 100-100 mu g/ml are nontoxic to an array of cell lines The drug-loaded nanoparticles showed comparatively higher toxicity to cancer cells while they are less toxic to normal cells The cell uptake of the 5-FU loaded thermo-responsive graft co-polymeric nanoparticles (5-FU-TRC-NP5) was confirmed from green fluorescence inside cells by rhodamine-123 conjugation The apoptosis assay showed increased apoptosis of cancer cells when treated with 5-FU compared to the normal cells These results indicated that novel 5-FU-TRC-NPs could be a promising candidate for cancer drug delivery (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd All rights reserved