pH sensitive functionalized hyperbranched polyester based nanoparticulate system for the receptor-mediated targeted cancer therapy

ABSTRACTThe aim of this study is to develop a novel folic acid conjugated, DL-lysine modified, PEGylated, the 3rd generation hyperbranched polymer (HBP-PEG-Lys-FA) for use in receptor-mediated therapy. 5-fluorouracil, model anti-cancer drug, loaded nanoparticles were found an average size of 177 nm with loading efficiency of 23.18%. In vitro drug release studies demonstrated that nanoparticles showed pH-dependent release. HBP-PEG-Lys-FA were efficiently taken up by HeLa cells and specificity of targeted nanoparticles to folate receptors of cells was proved. It was concluded that the HBP-PEG-Lys-FA nanoparticles can provide an advantage on delivering of the drug efficiently into the cytosol for cancer therapy.