Doxorubicin-chitin-poly(caprolactone) composite nanogel for drug delivery

In this work, we developed a pH responsive chitin-poly(caprolactone) composite nanogels (chitin-PCL CNGs) system for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). A hydrophilic drug, doxorubicin (Dox) was loaded in Chitin-PCL CNGs (Dox-chitin-PCL CNGs). Both control and drug loaded systems were analyzed by DLS, SEM, FTIR and TG/DTA. The size ranges of the control composite nanogels and their drug loaded counterparts were found to be 70 ± 20 and 240 ± 20 nm, respectively. The control chitin-PCL CNGs and Dox-chitin-PCL CNGs showed higher swelling and degradation in acidic pH. Drug entrapment efficiency and in-vitro drug release studies were carried out and showed a higher drug release at acidic pH compared to neutral pH. Cellular internalization of the nanogel systems was confirmed by fluorescent microscopy. Dox-Chitin-PCL CNGs showed dose dependent cytotoxicity toward A549 (adenocarcinomic human alveolar basal epithelial cells) cancer cells. Furthermore, the results of in-vitro hemolytic assay and coagulation assay substantiate the blood compatibility of the system. These results indicate that chitin-PCL CNGs is a novel carrier for delivery of anticancer drugs.