Issue 6, 2015

Targeted delivery of “copper carbonate” nanoparticles to cancer cells in vivo

Abstract

Various metal based nanoparticles such as Zn, Co and Cu are well known to have an anticancer effect. In targeting these nanoparticles, it is a great challenge to minimize the toxicity to normal cells. Folate receptors are expressed in a variety of cancer cells. Folic acid mediated targeting is a well accepted technique for cancer therapeutics. The purpose of this study is to explore the effect of novel copper carbonate (CuCO3) nanoparticles and their targeted delivery to cancer cells in vitro and in vivo. We synthesized the CuCO3 nanoparticles by a precipitation method, and they were characterized using various biophysical techniques. These CuCO3 nanoparticles (18–20 nm) induced DNA damage and disrupted the mitochondrial membrane, and finally cell death was mediated by apoptosis. Additionally, folic acid was conjugated to the CuCO3 nanoparticles, to deliver them specifically to cancer cells. To study the efficacy of the targeting, folate receptor knockdown HeLa cells were developed by sh-RNA and it was also further tested on a mouse model. These folic acid conjugated CuCO3 nanoparticles can be an effective therapeutic agent for folate receptor expressing cancer cells, and can therefore minimize the toxicity to normal cells.

Graphical abstract: Targeted delivery of “copper carbonate” nanoparticles to cancer cells in vivo

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
30 Jun 2015
Accepted
24 Sep 2015
First published
28 Sep 2015

Toxicol. Res., 2015,4, 1604-1612

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