ZnO nanoparticles as drug delivery agent for photodynamic therapy

Multidrug resistance (MDR) limits the success of many tumoricidal drugs. Non-significant accumulation of the drug into the target site is one major problem in photodynamic therapy. Nanoparticles are extensively used as efficient drug carriers in various local infectious and premalignant biological tissues. Due to their unique physical and chemical properties, PEGylated zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) exhibit high drug loading capacities, sustained drug release profiles and long-term anticancer efficacy. (Polyethylene glycol) PEG-zinc oxide nanoparticles were synthesized using the aquis chemical technique. Morphology/structural analysis of the said nanoparticles was confirmed by applying many techniques, e. g. scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and XRD. Average grain size of the nanoparticles, which was approximate to 100 nm, was calculated by applying the Scherrer formula. The PEGylated ZnO NPs were loaded with protoporphyrin IX (PpIX) to enhance the capability of drug carrying potency. Current work focused on the comparison of the cell killing effect (apoptosis/necrosis) by functionalizing different nanostructures via PEGylated ZnO NPs and bare ZnO NPs using the free-standing drug delivery procedure. ZnO NPs were used as anticancer drug vehicles because of their biocompatibility and bio-safety profile. The apoptotic effect of PEGylated tumoricidal drugs has been studied in human muscle carcinoma (RD cell line) in the dark as well as under laser exposure. It was concluded that PpIX localization was a significant time greater using encapsulation as compared to a conventional drug delivery system. This new technique may find excellent opportunities in the field of nanomedicine, especially in a multidrug delivery system.