Calcium Ferrite Reinforced Starch Nanovesicles—Application in Anticancer Drug Delivery

Recently, the formulation of multifunctional nanoparticles has significantly reduced various limitations associated with drugs and drug carriers. In this study, a novel multilamellar hybrid nanovesicle system was developed using a combination of a polysaccharide and a lipid. Starch forms the core of hybrid nanoparticles, while stearic acid with polyethylene glycol containing calcium ferrite nanoparticles form the shell. The drug, zidovudine (AZT), was encapsulated within the hybrid nanovesicle system for anticancer drug delivery. The calcium ferrite nanoparticles were characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and x-ray diffraction (XRD) analyses. The morphology of the hybrid nanoparticles was analyzed using TEM, which showed a multilamellar morphology with an average size of 179 ± 18.23 nm. The drug loading and release behavior of these nanoparticles were assessed, and they showed high encapsulation efficiency (93%) and a sustainable release of AZT over 48 h. The cytocompatibility of the hybrid nanosystem was analyzed in human fibroblasts and keratinocytes, and the nanoparticles demonstrated no significant cytotoxicity toward these cell lines. The anticancer activity was tested against human breast cancer cell lines, which showed excellent cytotoxicity toward cancer cell lines. The investigation is promising for designing a multilamellar hybrid nanosystem-based anticancer delivery system.