Synthesis and characterization of targeted delivery systems based on dendrimer in nanobiotechnology

Dendrimers are versatile polymers that can be synthesized at nanoscales. They perform a crucial role in developing of drug carrier nanoformulations that can be used in pharmaceutical technologies, particularly in nanobiotechnology, because of their unique features and molecular structure. This work aims to investigate the in vitro cytotoxicity and drug delivery features of novel synthesized and characterized dendrimers with functional properties that may be applied as targeted drug delivery systems on cancer cells. In this direction, the first generation (G1-4) of a novel peptide dendrimer based on the branching units of the amino acid L-arginine (L-Arg) and the core molecule ethylene diamine (EDA) was produced. Their molecular structures were characterized and confirmed and their properties determined by FTIR, 1H NMR, GPC-SEC analysis and ninhydrin test. In vitro cytotoxicity properties of the synthesized dendrimers were determined by MTT test using POF cell line. For the first time, dendrimer's G2 and G3 products were produced as nanoformulations (nG2:BI and nG3:BI) using the anticancer drug β-ionone (BI).Their in vitro cytotoxicity properties on cancer cells were examined by MTT assay using HeLa cell line. The results were calculated as IC50 values and evaluated in comparison with control groups. Folic acid (FA), a recognized targeted molecule, was conjugated to the G3 dendrimer in order to investigate the change in cytotoxic effect with this application. Nanoformulation (nFA-G3:BI) was prepared and MTT test was applied. Consequently, it was demonstrated that the new G3 peptide dendrimer, which contains the core molecule EDA and the branching units L-arg synthesized in this study, can be used as nanocarriers that can be targeted to HeLa cells without the need for the targeting FA compound, which is commonly used to deliver drugs to cancer cells under in vitro working conditions. It is obvious that dendrimers will play a significant role in the field of targeted nanocarriers in nanobiotechnology given the success of the novel nG2:BI, nG3:BI, and nFA-G3:BI nanoformulations in carrying BI (anticancer agent).