Chitosan/gelatin hybrid nanogel containing doxorubicin as enzyme-responsive drug delivery system for breast cancer treatment

Here, chitosan/gelatin hybrid nanogel containing gold nanoparticles (CS/AuNPs@Gel) was prepared as an efficient enzyme-responsive carrier for doxorubicin (DOX) delivery. Nanogel was fabricated via ionic crosslinking of CS/AuNPs in the presence of gelatin as an enzyme-responsive moiety. The physicochemical properties of the final compounds were investigated by FT-IR, DLS, TEM, and UV-Vis spectroscopy. The mean size of the prepared CS/AuNPs and CS/AuNPs@Gel was around 83 nm and 119.3 nm with a zeta potential of 83.9 mV and 31.9 mV, respectively. The loading efficiency of DOX in the CS/AuNPs@Gel nanogel was about 56% and DOX was released from the nanogel in an enzyme-responsive manner. The cytotoxic assay on the MCF-7 cells revealed the nontoxicity of free nanogel, the effectiveness of drug-loaded nanogel (DN), and DN in the presence of an enzyme compared with the free DOX.

Automated summary

In this study, a chitosan/gelatin hybrid nanogel containing gold nanoparticles (CS/AuNPs@Gel) was prepared as an efficient enzyme-responsive carrier for doxorubicin (DOX) delivery. The physicochemical properties of the nanogel were investigated, and it was found that DOX was loaded in the nanogel with a high efficiency and released in an enzyme-responsive manner. Cytotoxic assays demonstrated the effectiveness of the drug-loaded nanogel compared to free DOX.