Targeted delivery of “copper carbonate” nanoparticles to cancer cells in vivo

Abstract

Various metal based nanoparticles such as Zn, Co and Cu are well known to have an anticancer effect. In targeting these nanoparticles, it is a great challenge to minimize the toxicity to normal cells. Folate receptors are expressed in a variety of cancer cells. Folic acid mediated targeting is a well accepted technique for cancer therapeutics. The purpose of this study is to explore the effect of novel copper carbonate (CuCO₃) nanoparticles and their targeted delivery to cancer cells in vitro and in vivo. We synthesized the CuCO₃ nanoparticles by a precipitation method, and they were characterized using various biophysical techniques. These CuCO₃ nanoparticles (18–20 nm) induced DNA damage and disrupted the mitochondrial membrane, and finally cell death was mediated by apoptosis. Additionally, folic acid was conjugated to the CuCO₃ nanoparticles, to deliver them specifically to cancer cells. To study the efficacy of the targeting, folate receptor knockdown HeLa cells were developed by sh-RNA and it was also further tested on a mouse model. These folic acid conjugated CuCO₃ nanoparticles can be an effective therapeutic agent for folate receptor expressing cancer cells, and can therefore minimize the toxicity to normal cells.