Translocation and Toxicity of Docetaxel Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotube Conjugates in Mammalian Breast Cancer Cells

Abstract

Multi-walled-carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) are widely explored as carriers for drug delivery due to their facile transport through cellular membranes and are reportedly found to be effective against cancer. In the present study, we have evaluated cellular uptake of Docetaxel (DTX) conjugated MWNTs from human breast cancer cells (MCF-7 and MDA-mb-231) and have provided primary results on cytotoxicity of the same. Efficient internalization of the drug conjugate (DTX-MWNTs) inside the cell was corroborated with the help of confocal microscopy, transmission electron microscopy and flow cytometry. The comparison of cytotoxicity of the conjugate and DTX was done by MTT assay. Results of the study indicated increased efficacy of the conjugates over the drug in terms of their cytotoxicity. It was observed that such conjugation of drug to MWNTs can be explored as a strategy to improve therapeutic index of cytotoxic drugs such as DTX and thereby enriching cancer therapies of coming time.