A biocompatible drug controlled release system based on β-cyclodextrin crosslinked magnetic lactose/ZIF-8 metal-organic frameworks for cancer treatment

Natural saccharides (Chitosan, Lactose, alginate, and beta-cyclodextrin) have recently attracted much attention from researchers as drug delivery systems for cancer therapy. In this regard, for the first time, we designed a new targeted carrier based on magnetic lactose-modified ZIF-8 metal-organic frameworks crosslinked with beta-cyclodextrin (M-Lactose@ZIF-8-beta-CD) for the pH-responsive controlled release of anticancer drugs, hydrophilic doxorubicin (DOX), and hydrophobic curcumin (CUR) to MCF-7 breast cancer cells. The encapsulation efficiency of M-Lactose@ZIF-8-beta-CD was found to be 95.16 % for DOX and 65.01 % for CUR. The in vitro release studies showed a pH-responsive controlled release of DOX and CUR from M-Lactose@ZIF-8-beta-CD at pH 5, which confirmed the performance of the prepared carrier in the cancerous microenvironments. The release mechanism of both drugs was well described by the Korsmeyer-Peppas and Fickian diffusion. In addition, in vitro cytotoxicity, hemolysis, and antioxidant investigations clearly showed that the prepared M-Lactose@ZIF-8-beta-CD carriers had good biocompatibility, high blood compatibility, and excellent antioxidant activity due to the presence of natural saccharides in carriers. Based on these findings, the M-Lactose@ZIF-8-beta-CD can be applied as a promising targeted co-drug delivery carrier for cancer therapy.