Targeted delivery of curcumin using magnetic nanocarrier for breast cancer treatment

Abstract

Breast cancer is one of the leading causes of mortality worldwide. The factors such as increasing incidence of breast cancer and higher metastatic rate make the treatment very difficult. Also, it is essential to detect the cancer in early stage for better prognosis. Developing a nanoformulation with the capability of targeted release of therapeutics along with diagnostic ability is the actively emerging research area. Magnetic nanoparticles can be properly surface-functionalized using biopolymers and targeting ligands which can be used as nanocarriers for targeted drug delivery applications. The lower solubility and bioavailability of Curcumin limits its use in biomedical applications. These limitations can be effectively overcome by encapsulating Cur to polymeric networks and protein complexes. With this view, the present study was focused on improving the bioavailability of Cur by loading it into BSA protein matrix and CMC polymer coated MnFe2O4 nanoparticles, followed by conjugating with Folic acid. newline