PVA-PVP-montmorillonite nanocomposite for efficient delivery of doxorubicin to breast cancer cells

Breast cancer is a significant issue for women globally, and conventional cancer treatments have limitations in controlling the disease. Thus, it is crucial to design effective platforms for precise, tailored and targeted drug delivery. For such purpose, novel polyvinyl alcohol-polyvinylpyrrolidone-montmorillonite (PVA-PVP-MMT) nanocomposite with ratio of 1:2:1 (w/v%) has been designed herein for the delivery of doxorubicin (Dox) as a model drug to MCF-7 breast cancer cells. The nanocomposite has been characterized by different analytical techniques, including FT-IR, XRD, DLS, and FE-SEM. DLS and zeta potential measurements revealed an average hydrodynamic diameter of 402 nm and a nanocarrier surface charge of 42 mV, respectively. According to FESEM analysis, its size ranges from 200 nm to 340 nm and it shows semi -spherical and step -like morphologies. Drug release data revealed a pH -sensitive delivery (22 % and 37 % for pH 7.4 and 5.4 within 6 h, respectively) and in a controlled manner (about 50 % within 48 h). Biomedical tests, including MTT and apoptosis, were carried out to study the cancer cell suppression efficiency of PVA-PVP-Dox-MMT. The MTT assay indicated 42 % cytotoxicity after 24 h of treatment with the nanocarrier, and the flow cytometry demonstrated 40 % apoptosis. The results of this study support that the developed PVA-PVP-Dox-MMT nanocarrier is an effective drug delivery platform and a very promising candidate for cancer treatment.