N-acetyl-D-glucosamine decorated nano-lipid-based carriers as theranostics module for targeted anti-cancer drug delivery

Abstract

The present investigation was carried out to engineer N-acetyl-D-glucosamine (NADG) coupled quercetin-loaded (Q) nano-lipid-based carriers (NADG-Q-NLBCs) to target breast cancer. The constructed nano-bioconjugate was characterized by various techniques, and the in vitro drug release profiles were examined using zero and first-order kinetic models. The characterization data confirmed the morphology, size, charge distribution, crystallinity, and chemical interactions among the various moieties of the nano-bioconjugate. Further, the synthesized NADG-Q-NLBCs were applied to target the human breast cancer cells (MCF-7), which interestingly showed a more cytotoxic effect compared to the lone NLBCs and free Quercetin. The flow cytometry study confirmed NADG-Q-NLBCs induced apoptosis in MCF-7 cells in a targeted manner. The percentage of early apoptotic cells was found to be 25% in the case of NADG-Q-NLBCs, which is almost 2.5 times higher than the Q-NLBCs. However, the number of viable cells reached the maximum when treated with NLBCs. The present investigation suggests that the constructed nano-bioconjugate could be a capable carrier of drugs with sustained pharmacokinetics and improved physicochemical properties. © 2022 Elsevier B.V.