Mortality response of folate receptor-activated, PEG-functionalized TiO2 nanop articles for doxorubicin loading with and without ultraviolet irradiation

TiO2 nanoparticles (NPs) were synthesized by hydrothermal assisted sol gel technique. In the next step, as-synthesized NPs were modified by poly ethylene glycol (PEG). Then, folic acid (PA) was conjugated to TiO2-PEG. Finally, Doxorubicin (Dox) as an anticancer drug was loaded on as-prepared TiO2-PEG-FA nanocarrier. The optimization of TiO2 and FA concentration and the influence of ultraviolet (UV) irradiation on photocatalytic activity of nanocarrier and Dox loaded carrier were assessed by utilizing the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT)-assay method. Results indicated that the effect of NPs on cancer cells killing is dose-dependent, optimized at 1.25 g/L. The performance of FA on the selective targeting was confirmed and maximized at FA/TiO2=0.5. As-optimized TiO2-PEG-FA Dox conjugate, in comparison to pure Dox, was more effective as far as cancer cell viability reduced to about 5%, especially under UV irradiation. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd and Techna Group S.r.l. All rights reserved.