Novel supramolecular organogel based on β-cyclodextrin as a green drug carrier for enhancing anticancer effects

Abstract Two-component gel of β-cyclodextrin as gelator and glycerol as solvent is investigated. This novel gel loading with 5-fluorouracil or methotrexate can enhance anticancer abilities effectively. So, the blank β-cyclodextrin gel can be a candidate for versatile drug delivery. The morphology of the gel is characterized by OM and SEM. The rheology and DSC are also applied to study the properties of the obtained gel. The mechanism of gel formation is analyzed by FT-IR and XRD, indicating the main driving forces for gel formation are self-aggregation of β-cyclodextrins and H-bondings between glycerol molecules. Amazingly, an in vitro cytotoxicity assay on human hepatocellular carcinoma cells lines shows that the drug-loaded gels with 5-fluorouracil or methotrexate exhibit better anti-cancer effects than that of those two drugs. Hence, the present work developed a new and low-cost drug carrier, which has potential application in drug delivery.