5-flourouracil loaded N,O-carboxymethyl chitosan nanoparticles as an anticancer nanomedicine for breast cancer.

Chitosan and its carboxymethyl derivatives are smart biopolymers that are non-toxic, biocompatible, biodegradable and hence found applications in biomedical field. In the current work, we have developed 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) loaded N,Ocarboxymethyl chitosan (N,O-CMC) nanoparticles (mean diameter: 80 +/- 20 nm, zeta potential: +52.47 +/- 2 mV) for cancer drug delivery. Drug entrapment efficiency (65%) and in vitro drug release studies were carried out spectrophotometricaly. Cellular internalization of the drug loaded nanoparticles was confirmed by fluorescent microscopy and flow cytometric analysis. Results of anticancer activity via MTT, apoptosis and caspase 3 assays showed the toxicity of the drug loaded nanoparticles towards breast cancer cells. As a whole these results indicates the potential of 5-FU loaded N,O-CMC nanoparticles in breast cancer chemotherapy in which the side effects of conventional chemo treatment could be reduced. Furthermore, the results of in vitro hemolytic assay and coagulation assay substantiate the blood compatibility of the system as well.