HYALURONAN-MEDIATED TARGETED DRUG-DELIVERY: SYNTHESIS, CHARACTERIZATION AND THE EFFECTS ON APOPTOTIC AND CELL SURVIVAL BIOMARKERS

In this study, paclitaxel (PTX) entrapped hyaluronic acid (HA) cross-linked
nanoparticles (NPs) were synthesized for targeted delivery to cancer cells. The
morphological characterization carried out by FESEM and TEM, showed that the NPs
were spherical in shape, with sizes ranging from 20-100 nm. The cross-linked HA
polymers with entrapped PTX was confirmed by FTIR analysis and the characteristic
peaks of PTX were observed at 1700 and 1736cm ·I. HA entrapment maintained the
crystalline nature of the PTX molecule as suggested by XRD analysis. Modeling of
release kinetics showed that PTX was released in a biphasic manner, with initial burst
release of 60-70%, followed by a slow and uniform release.