Doxorubucin loaded pH-responsive chitosan-poly(acrylamide-maleic acid) composite hydrogel for anticancer targeting

© 2022 Elsevier B.V.A pH responsive superadsorbent composite hydrogel, chitosan-poly(acrylamide-maleic acid)(Ch-p(Ac-Ma)), were synthesized, characterized and loaded by Doxorubucin (Dox), anti-cancer drug. Chitosan solution was modified by blending biocompatible chitosan and poly(acrylamide-co-maleic acid) in the polymerization medium. This new composite hydrogel had a high loading capacity for Dox (∼90%). Some chemical characteristics of the prepared composite hydrogel were investigated by swelling test, SEM, FTIR, XRD. The drug release study confirmed the pH-responsive delivery of doxorubucin. The composite hydrogel was loaded by high efficiency and the release experiments exhibited that Dox is released more at pH 4.5 compared with pH 7.4 at 37 °C. The biocompatibility of the prepared composite hydrogel was demonstrated via XTT assay in MCF-7 cells. The Dox loaded composite showed a controlled release, especially at acidic region. The Ch-p(Ac-Ma) exhibited a good biocompatibility against breast cancer cells (MCF 7) and dose dependent drug delivery behavior. Also, we employed molecular docking and density functional theory analysis to investigate the inhibitory activity, reactivity, and stability of Doxorubucin and target protein HER2 ((Pdb ID: 7JXH). The interaction between Doxorubucin and target protein HER2 ((Pdb ID: 7JXH) was investigated in the light of Molecular Docking calculations.