Fabricating β-cyclodextrin based pH-responsive nanotheranostics as a programmable polymeric nanocapsule for...

Area of Science:

• Nanotechnology
• Materials Science
• Pharmaceutical Sciences

Background:

• Developing smart drug delivery systems to enhance chemotherapy efficiency and reduce side effects remains a significant challenge.
• Nanotechnology offers novel solutions, with nanocarriers like cyclodextrins enabling the delivery of hydrophobic drugs to cancer cells via inclusion complexation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To design and fabricate a pH-responsive theranostic nanocapsule utilizing a cyclodextrin supramolecular nanostructure.

Main Methods:

• The nanocapsule core contains iron oxide nanoparticles, surrounded by three polymeric layers incorporating beta-cyclodextrin, polyacrylic acid-sulfadiazine, and polyethylenimine-beta-cyclodextrin.
• Doxorubicin was loaded, and its release profile was studied at normal and acidic pH.
• Biocompatibility was assessed using MTT assays, complement activation, coagulation, and hemolysis tests.

Main Results:

• A spherical nanocapsule (43±1.5 nm, -43 mV charge) with 160% loading efficacy was successfully prepared.
• An on/off pH-responsive drug release pattern was observed, with drug release occurring at low acidic pH.
• The nanocapsule demonstrated excellent biocompatibility, with no adverse effects on blood or immune components, while effectively targeting cancer cells at low concentrations.

Conclusions:

• The developed nanocapsule functions as a "switchable" theranostic agent.
• This system holds significant potential for simultaneous cancer diagnosis and therapy.