Paclitaxel delivery and targeted therapy to breast cancer cells with pH-sensitive hybrid nanoparticles

Breast cancer is one of the most common malignancies among women worldwide, and the effectiveness of current treatment approaches remains limited. Therefore, the development of smart drug delivery systems responsive to the tumor microenvironment is of great importance. In this thesis, pH-sensitive phosphatidylcholine-coated chitosan-based nanoparticles were synthesized, and the potential of paclitaxel-loaded formulations for breast cancer treatment was evaluated. The nanoparticles were prepared using the ionic gelation method, and phosphatidylcholine coating was performed using the thin-film method, which was confirmed by FTIR and XPS analyses. In vitro release studies were conducted at pH 5.5, 6.5 (tumor microenvironment simulation), and physiological pH. The phosphatidylcholine coating was validated by significant changes in the P=O and C-H stretching vibrations in the FTIR spectrum and the appearance of the phosphorus (P2p) peak in the XPS analysis. The mean particle size of paclitaxel-loaded chitosan nanoparticles was 198.7 ± 6.8 nm, with a PDI of 0.245 ± 0.018.