Fabrication, Characterization and Evaluation of Hybrid Organic-Inorganic Nano-Carriers for Delivery of Doxorubicin in Breast Cancer Cells

Carbonate apatite (CA) nanoparticles (NPs) basically composed of Ca2+, PO43- and CO32-, tend to self-aggregate, resulting in insufficient drug binding efficiency and off-target distribution to healthy tissues. To overcome the limitation, CA NPs were modified with Fe3+ and Mg2+ and subsequently, with anionic Krebs’ cycle intermediates and lactate to modulate the particles size, surface charge, and morphology. The resultant small size, monodisperse pH-sensitive NPs of Fe/Mg-CA demonstrated increased binding affinity for Doxorubicin (anti-cancer drug) and thereby led to enhanced antiproliferative effect, cellular uptake, tumor-targeted drug delivery, and reduced systemic toxicity and tumor growth in a breast cancer syngeneic mouse model.