Folic acid functionalized starch encapsulated green synthesized copper oxide nanoparticles for targeted drug delivery in breast cancer therapy

This work aimed to synthesis copper oxide nanoparticles (CuONPs) using the Helianthus tuberosus (Ht) extracts then encapsulated with starch (ST) followed by conjugated with folic acid (FA) to facilitate the targeted release in MDA-MB-231 cells and this nanoparticles (NPs) was named as FA-ST-HtCuONPs. The TEM and DLS revealed that the FA-ST-HtCuONPs was hexagonal, oval-shaped with size of ~108.83 nm, and zeta potential of 43.26 mV. FTIR analysis indicated the presence of functional derivatives related to starch, folic acid and phytomolecules in NPs. Besides, the about 241.25 nmol/mg of folic accumulation on surface of the FA-ST-HtCuONPs were confirmed by UV-visible spectroscopic method. The cytotoxicity results revealed that among the samples, the inhibitory concentration (IC₅₀) of FA-ST-HtCuONPs (21.03 ± 1.85 μg/mL) was exhibited higher cytotoxicity to human breast cancer (MDA-MB-231) cells through activation reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation, nuclear damage and reduction of mitochondrial membrane potential and activation the apoptosis-related protein expression. Overall, the results proved that folic acid and starch decoration were increased the NPs penetration in cell through folate receptor-based endocytosis for enhanced breast cancer therapy.

Keywords: Apoptosis; Breast cancer; Folic acid; Helianthus tuberosus.