Efficient drug delivery systems (DDSs) can potentially replace with conventional modalities in cancer therapy, like liver cancer. In this study, a novel folic acid (FA)-functionalised and alginate (Alg)-modified poly lactic-co-glycolic acid (PLGA) nanocomposite was developed for delivery of doxorubicin (Dox) to HepG2 and Huh7 liver cancer cells. After synthesising the nanocarrier, several analytical devices, including FT-IR, DLS, TGA, and TEM, were employed for its characterisation. Nano-metric size (55 and 85 nm in diameter), close to neutral surface charge, semi-spherical morphology, and successful synthesis were approved. Dox entrapment efficiency was determined near 1%, and sustained and pH-sensitive drug release behaviours of nanocarrier were ascertained for DDS. Afterwards, the cell viability test was carried out to study the HepG2 and Huh7 cells suppression capability of FA-PLGA-Dox-Alg. About 12% and 10% cell viabilities were observed in HepG2 and Huh7 cancer cells after 24 h treatment with 400 nM concentration of FA-PLGA-Dox-Alg nanocarrier respectively. The IC50 value was observed for 100 nM after 24 h of treatment in cancer cells. These data have indicated that fabricated nanocarrier could be promising DDS against liver cancer and replace with conventional approaches in cancer treatment, like chemotherapy.

中文翻译：

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聚乳酸-乙醇酸-海藻酸盐纳米载体可有效地将药物递送至肝癌细胞。

高效药物输送系统（DDS）有可能取代肝癌等癌症治疗的传统方式。在这项研究中，开发了一种新型叶酸（FA）功能化和海藻酸盐（Alg）修饰的聚乳酸-乙醇酸（PLGA）纳米复合材料，用于将阿霉素（Dox）递送至HepG2和Huh7肝癌细胞。合成纳米载体后，采用多种分析设备（包括 FT-IR、DLS、TGA 和 TEM）对其进行表征。纳米尺寸（直径 55 和 85 nm）、接近中性表面电荷、半球形形态以及成功合成均得到批准。Dox 包封率测定接近 1%，并且 DDS 确定了纳米载体的持续且 pH 敏感的药物释放行为。随后进行细胞活力测试，研究FA-PLGA-Dox-Alg对HepG2和Huh7细胞的抑制能力。用 400 nM 浓度的 FA-PLGA-Dox-Alg 纳米载体处理 24 小时后，在 HepG2 和 Huh7 癌细胞中观察到细胞活力分别约为 12% 和 10%。在癌细胞中处理24小时后观察到IC50值为100 nM。这些数据表明，制造的纳米载体有望成为对抗肝癌的 DDS，并取代化疗等癌症治疗中的传统方法。