An in vitro cytotoxicity study of 5-fluorouracil encapsulated chitosan/gold nanocomposites towards MCF-7 cells

Chitosan/gold nanocomposite was synthesized using the chemical reduction method. The XRD pattern shows the semi-crystalline nature of chitosan and the face centered cubic structure of gold. The binding of gold to chitosan was confirmed using XPS and FTIR. The presence of gold in its metallic state is evident from XPS. The prepared nanocomposite was used as a drug delivery carrier for 5-fluorouracil. The encapsulation efficiency of 5-FU and the drug loading efficiency were found to be 96% and 41% respectively. A dialysis membrane was used to study the release of 5-fluorouracil from chitosan/gold nanocomposite. The amount of drug released in vitro was analyzed using the UV-vis characterization of PBS solution. 5-fluorouracil encapsulated nanocomposite was characterized using HRTEM with SAED, HRSEM with elemental mapping, XRD and FTIR analysis. The presence of fluorine, observed from the elemental mapping, confirms the loading of the drug into the nanocomposite. Cytotoxicity analysis was performed for the MCF-7 and VERO cell lines, which shows the effectiveness of the sample towards the destruction of MCF-7 and its non-toxicity towards VERO. 50% cell viability for the MCF-7 cells was obtained at a sample concentration of 31.2 mu g ml(-1). The non-toxicity of the system towards VERO cells at the concentration wherein IC50 is obtained for MCF-7 and the adherence of the maximum portion of the release profile to zero order kinetics, which means a constant release of the drug from the delivery vehicle, are the highlights of this system.