PEG functionalized zirconium dicarboxylate MOFs for docetaxel drug delivery in vitro

Abstract Pure Zr-MOFs (UiO-66) particles have been synthesized by solvothermal method. As synthesized, UiO-66 particles are observed to have cubical shape with average particle size ranging from 65 to 70 nm. The as synthesized UiO-66 particles have been loaded with anticancer drug, Docetaxel (DTX@UiO-66). Further, DTX@UiO-66 particles have been coated with a biocompatible layer of polyethyleneglycol (PEG). The drug release profiles shows that the drug release time for DTX@UiO-66 particles is increased after PEGylation (PEG@DTX@UiO-66). This confirmed that PEG coated particles have greater stability than uncoated UiO-66 particles for drug delivery application. The pH-dependent drug release of UiO-66 particles is also studied at 2 different pH values, i.e., 5 and 7.4. It is observed that the drug release time at smaller pH is less than the higher pH, attributed to faster degradation of MOF particles at low pH value. The cellular viability (MTT study), cellular uptake study and apoptotic induction study have also been carried out on MCF-7 cancerous cell lines.