Facile synthesis of multi‐walled carbon nanotube via folic acid grafted nanoparticle for precise delivery of doxorubicin

Abstract

The motive of work was to develop a multi‐walled carbon nanoplatform through facile method for transportation of potential anticancer drug doxorubicin (DOX). Folic acid (FA)‐ethylene diamine (EDA) anchored and acid functionalised MWCNTs were covalently grafted with DOX via π–π stacking interaction. The resultant composite was corroborated by 1 H NMR, FTIR, XRD, EDX, SEM, and DSC study. The drug entrapment efficiency of FA‐conjugated MWCNT was found high and stability study revealed its suitability in biological system. FA‐EDA‐MWCNTs‐DOX conjugate demonstrated a significant in vitro anticancer activity on human breast cancer MCF‐7 cells. MTT study revealed the lesser cytotoxicity of folate‐conjugated MWCNTs. The obtained results demonstrated the targeting specificity of FA‐conjugate via overexpressed folate receptor deemed greater scientific value to overcome multidrug protection during cancer therapy. The proposed strategy is a gentle contribution towards development of biocompatible targeted drug delivery and offers potential to address the current challenges in cancer therapy.