Synthesis, characterization and anticancer activity of vincristine loaded folic acid-chitosan conjugated nanoparticles on NCI-H460 non-small cell lung cancer cell line

Vincristine is used to treat different type of cancers. But unwanted side effects limit their applications in medicine. To overcome these side effects by targeted drug delivery approach, we synthesized vincristine loaded folic acid-chitosan conjugated nanoparticles by ionic gelation method. The nanoparticles were characterized using Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Transmission Electron Microscopy. DLS confirmed small sized nanoparticles (<200 nm) while FTIR confirmed different functional groups associated with synthesized nanoparticles. SEM showed spherical shaped nanoparticles with smooth surface, whereas, TEM confirmed loading of vincristine in folic acid-chitosan conjugated nanoparticles. Anticancer activity of vincristine loaded folic acid-chitosan conjugated nanoparticles was checked by MTT assay on NCI-H460 cells followed by reactive oxygen species level, mitochondrial transmembrane potential and apoptotic morphological changes, which confirmed the cytotoxicity of nanoparticles. Erythrocyte aggregation assay confirmed non-toxicity of nanoparticles. Hence, these nanoparticles can be used to treat NCI-H460 cells.