In vitro biocompatibility evaluations of pH-sensitive Bi2MoO6/NH2-GO conjugated polyethylene glycol for release of daunorubicin in cancer therapy

Abstract

Here, a pH-sensitive biocompatible nanocarrier system is synthesized by the combination of Bi₂MoO₆ nanoparticles, NH₂-graphene oxide (GO), and polyethylene glycol (PEG) for loading and delivery of daunorubicin (DNR) into breast cancer cells. DNR is loaded onto the nanocarrier surface via covalent bonding, exhibiting pH-sensitive behavior so that in acidic pH, nearly 86.85% of the drug is released, but in biological pH, only about 15% of the drug is released. The resulting Bi₂MoO₆/NH₂-GO/PEG/DNR has a high drug loading content (33.29%) and encapsulation efficiency (99.75%). By examining the toxicity of the nanocarrier-loaded drug, no adverse effect is observed on healthy cells HUVEC, and the survival rate of cancer cells MCF-7 decreases with increasing the nanocarrier concentration. Moreover, the free drug is found to be more toxic than DNR attached to the nanocarrier. The complement activation (C3 and C4 levels), prothrombin time and activated partial thromboplastin time analyses also indicate its excellent blood compatibility. The hemolysis analysis (HRs),used to evaluate the nanocarrier compatibility. the results show that even in high concentrations(5-100 μg/ml), the percentage of hemolysis is below 1.8%, which indicates that the nanocarrier is safe to blood cells. These results evidence the therapeutic nature of the biocompatible Bi₂MoO₆/NH₂-GO/PEG, proposing it as an efficient anticancer nanocarrier for drug delivery and other biomedical application purposes.

Keywords: Biocompatibility; Bismuth molybdate; Blood compatibility; Breast cancer therapy; Daunorubicin delivery; PH-sensitive nanocarrier.