Characterization and evaluation of a folic acid receptor-targeted cyclodextrin complex as an anticancer drug delivery system

Abstract To improve the water solubility and tumor targeting ability of docetaxel (DTX), and thus enhance the drug's antitumor efficacy and safety, a novel folate receptor (FR)-targeted cyclodextrin drug delivery vehicle (FA-CD) was successfully synthesized. The synthesis of the designed cyclodextrin was confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1 H NMR), and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The in vitro cytotoxicity was investigated using a 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay and the results showed that no significant differences (p > 0.05) appeared in cytotoxicity between the different cyclodextrins in the different cell lines. Besides, the DTX/FA-CD inclusion complex was prepared. The cellular uptake and competition assays were examined using the HepG2, HeLa, and KB cell lines, which have different levels of folate receptor expression. Interestingly, the Cy5.5/FA-CD complex had higher uptake in the HepG2, HeLa, and KB cells, compared with non-targeted Cy5.5/CD complex (p   HepG2 > HeLa > KB for DTX/FA-CD (p