Functional chitosan nanocarriers for potential applications in gene therapy

► Chitosan nanocarriers with folic acid and ZnS QDs functionalities are synthesized. ► The nanocarriers were spherical (~75 nm) and have emission maxima at 440 nm. ► The nanocarriers were non-cytotoxic against U87MG and HT29 cells. ► Gel retardation assay showed binding of pDNA to the nanocarriers. ► Transfecting ability of the nanocarriers was confirmed by AO/EB dual staining.