An in vitro investigation into targeted paclitaxel delivery nanomaterials based on chitosan-Pluronic P123-biotin copolymer for inhibiting human breast cancer cells

Abstract Targeted chemotherapy is a current research trend in cancer treatment that aims to improve the effectiveness of drug access to cancer cells. Among the vitamins, biotin has been identified as an effective targeting agent in drug delivery to cancer cells. In this work, novel biotin-conjugated chitosan-Pluronic P123, termed Cs–P123-Bio, was developed as a carrier vehicle for delivering paclitaxel (PTX) to the tumour target. The results show that Cs–P123-Bio was stable with a low critical micelle concentration (31.83 ± 4.25 μg/mL), and the encapsulation efficacy and drug loading of Cs–P123-Bio were around 94.67 ± 3.67% and 1.89 ± 0.07%, respectively. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), dynamic light scattering (DLS) and electrophoretic light scattering (ELS) analysis indicated that the Cs–P123-Bio nanoparticles loaded with PTX formed as a spherical shape with an average diameter of 63.4 ± 0.6 nm and a positive charge. Furthermore, the PTX release profile was slow and controlled by the pH of the medium. In particular, in vitro biocompatibility assays indicated that Cs–P123-Bio exhibited good biological compatibility with a human foreskin fibroblast cell line and Cs–P123-Bio manifested good internalization efficiency in MCF-7 cells. Cs–P123-Bio also enhanced the cytotoxicity of PTX in comparison with Cs–P123. Therefore, our approach could suggest excellent potential for tumour targeting in cancer therapy.