Ex vivo and in vivo performance of anti-cancer drug loaded carbon nanotubes

In the present investigation we explore the ex vivo and in vivo cancer targeting potential of Doxorubicin laden oxidized dextran conjugated PEG-multi walled carbon nanotubes (DOX/ox-DEX/PEG-MWCNTs) using MCF-7 cells. The percent entrapment efficiency was found to be 97.00 +/- 2.10% (DOX/ox-DEX/PEG-MWCNTs) and 92.00 +/- 3.00% (DOX/MWCNTs). The DOX/ox-DEX/PEG-MWCNTs depicted enhanced cellular uptake and cytotoxicity. The obtained results also showed the extended residence time of DOX/ox-DEX/PEG-MWCNTs as compared to DOX/MWCNTs and free DOX. Overall, we can conclude that the developed Doxorubicin loaded functionalized MWCNTs could be explored successfully for cancer targeting propensity. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.