Characterization and in vitro studies of the anticancer effect of oxidized carbon nanotubes functionalized with betulinic acid

Among the array of nanomaterials, carbon nanotubes have shown great potential as drug carriers in the field of nanomedicine, owing to their attractive physicochemical structure, which facilitates functionalization of therapeutic molecules onto their external walls or being encapsulated inside the tu...

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Main Authors: Tan, Julia M., Karthivashan, Govindarajan, Arulselvan, Palanisamy, Fakurazi, Sharida, Hussein, Mohd Zobir
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Dove Medical Press 2014
Online Access:http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/36747/1/Characterization%20and%20in%20vitro%20studies%20of%20the%20anticancer%20effect%20of%20oxidized%20carbon%20nanotubes%20functionalized%20with%20betulinic%20acid.pdf
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author Tan, Julia M.
Karthivashan, Govindarajan
Arulselvan, Palanisamy
Fakurazi, Sharida
Hussein, Mohd Zobir
author_facet Tan, Julia M.
Karthivashan, Govindarajan
Arulselvan, Palanisamy
Fakurazi, Sharida
Hussein, Mohd Zobir
author_sort Tan, Julia M.
collection UPM
description Among the array of nanomaterials, carbon nanotubes have shown great potential as drug carriers in the field of nanomedicine, owing to their attractive physicochemical structure, which facilitates functionalization of therapeutic molecules onto their external walls or being encapsulated inside the tubes. The aim of this preliminary study was to formulate betulinic acid (BA), a poorly water-soluble drug, in oxidized multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT-COOH) for enhanced delivery efficiency into cancer cells with reduced cytotoxicity. The synthesized MWCNT-BA nanocomposite was characterized using ultraviolet-visible, Fourier transform infrared, thermogravimetric analysis, powder X-ray diffraction, and field emission scanning electron microscopy techniques. The loading of BA in MWCNT-COOH nanocarrier was estimated to be about 14.5%–14.8% (w/w), as determined by ultraviolet-visible and thermogravimetric analysis. Fourier transform infrared study shows that the peaks of the resulting MWCNT-BA nanocomposite correlate to the characteristic functional groups of BA and MWCNT-COOH. The powder X-ray diffraction results confirmed that the tubular structures of MWCNT-COOH were not affected by the drug loading mechanism of BA. The release profiles demonstrated that approximately 98% of BA could be released within 22 hours by phosphate-buffered saline solution at pH 7.4 compared with about 22% within 24 hours at pH 4.8. The biocompatibility studies revealed that MWCNT-BA at concentrations <50 µg/mL expressed no cytotoxicity effects for mouse embryo fibroblast cells after 72 hours of treatment. The anticancer activity of MWCNT-BA was observed to be more sensitive to human lung cancer cell line when compared with human liver cancer cell line, with half maximal inhibitory concentration values of 2.7 and 11.0 µg/mL, respectively. Our findings form a fundamental platform for further investigation of the MWCNT-BA formulation against different types of cancer cells.
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spelling upm.eprints-367472015-12-08T00:42:00Z http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/36747/ Characterization and in vitro studies of the anticancer effect of oxidized carbon nanotubes functionalized with betulinic acid Tan, Julia M. Karthivashan, Govindarajan Arulselvan, Palanisamy Fakurazi, Sharida Hussein, Mohd Zobir Among the array of nanomaterials, carbon nanotubes have shown great potential as drug carriers in the field of nanomedicine, owing to their attractive physicochemical structure, which facilitates functionalization of therapeutic molecules onto their external walls or being encapsulated inside the tubes. The aim of this preliminary study was to formulate betulinic acid (BA), a poorly water-soluble drug, in oxidized multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT-COOH) for enhanced delivery efficiency into cancer cells with reduced cytotoxicity. The synthesized MWCNT-BA nanocomposite was characterized using ultraviolet-visible, Fourier transform infrared, thermogravimetric analysis, powder X-ray diffraction, and field emission scanning electron microscopy techniques. The loading of BA in MWCNT-COOH nanocarrier was estimated to be about 14.5%–14.8% (w/w), as determined by ultraviolet-visible and thermogravimetric analysis. Fourier transform infrared study shows that the peaks of the resulting MWCNT-BA nanocomposite correlate to the characteristic functional groups of BA and MWCNT-COOH. The powder X-ray diffraction results confirmed that the tubular structures of MWCNT-COOH were not affected by the drug loading mechanism of BA. The release profiles demonstrated that approximately 98% of BA could be released within 22 hours by phosphate-buffered saline solution at pH 7.4 compared with about 22% within 24 hours at pH 4.8. The biocompatibility studies revealed that MWCNT-BA at concentrations <50 µg/mL expressed no cytotoxicity effects for mouse embryo fibroblast cells after 72 hours of treatment. The anticancer activity of MWCNT-BA was observed to be more sensitive to human lung cancer cell line when compared with human liver cancer cell line, with half maximal inhibitory concentration values of 2.7 and 11.0 µg/mL, respectively. Our findings form a fundamental platform for further investigation of the MWCNT-BA formulation against different types of cancer cells. Dove Medical Press 2014 Article PeerReviewed application/pdf en http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/36747/1/Characterization%20and%20in%20vitro%20studies%20of%20the%20anticancer%20effect%20of%20oxidized%20carbon%20nanotubes%20functionalized%20with%20betulinic%20acid.pdf Tan, Julia M. and Karthivashan, Govindarajan and Arulselvan, Palanisamy and Fakurazi, Sharida and Hussein, Mohd Zobir (2014) Characterization and in vitro studies of the anticancer effect of oxidized carbon nanotubes functionalized with betulinic acid. Drug Design, Development and Therapy, 8. pp. 2333-2343. ISSN 1177-8881 http://www.dovepress.com/characterization-and-in-vitro-studies-of-the-anticancer-effect-of-oxid-peer-reviewed-article-DDDT 10.2147/DDDT.S70650
spellingShingle Tan, Julia M.
Karthivashan, Govindarajan
Arulselvan, Palanisamy
Fakurazi, Sharida
Hussein, Mohd Zobir
Characterization and in vitro studies of the anticancer effect of oxidized carbon nanotubes functionalized with betulinic acid
title Characterization and in vitro studies of the anticancer effect of oxidized carbon nanotubes functionalized with betulinic acid
title_full Characterization and in vitro studies of the anticancer effect of oxidized carbon nanotubes functionalized with betulinic acid
title_fullStr Characterization and in vitro studies of the anticancer effect of oxidized carbon nanotubes functionalized with betulinic acid
title_full_unstemmed Characterization and in vitro studies of the anticancer effect of oxidized carbon nanotubes functionalized with betulinic acid
title_short Characterization and in vitro studies of the anticancer effect of oxidized carbon nanotubes functionalized with betulinic acid
title_sort characterization and in vitro studies of the anticancer effect of oxidized carbon nanotubes functionalized with betulinic acid
url http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/36747/1/Characterization%20and%20in%20vitro%20studies%20of%20the%20anticancer%20effect%20of%20oxidized%20carbon%20nanotubes%20functionalized%20with%20betulinic%20acid.pdf
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