Reimagine breast cancer treatment: MgO-IDA nanocomposites: A promising strategy for precision medicine targeting MCF-7 cells

Conventional chemotherapies are used to treat cancer; however, they cannot discriminate between healthy and tumor tissues. Currently, advanced drug delivery systems are being developed to overcome these challenges. The present study aims to design a targeted and controlled drug delivery system against cancer tissues. To achieve this goal, MgO nanoparticles were synthesized via the sol–gel method, conjugated with IDA and folic acid, and then characterized via UV–Vis, FT–IR, SEM–EDX, and XRD techniques. The anticancer potential of the nanocomposite was subsequently evaluated through an MTT assay on the MCF-7 cell line, a migratory assay for cell metastasis, histochemical analysis, a drug release assay, and a hemolysis assay to assess biosafety. Furthermore, in vivo toxicity studies were performed on Mus musculus (albino mice) to evaluate the toxicity of different concentrations of MgO-IDA. The results were statistically analyzed via one-way ANOVA and are presented as percentages. The white MgO and purple MgO-IDA nanocomposites presented UV–Vis absorption peaks at 295 and 445 nm, respectively. The FT-IR spectra confirmed the successful conjugation of MgO and MgO-IDA through the appearance of peaks at 490 cm −1 and 700 cm −1 . SEM analysis revealed a spherical morphology and uniform structure of the nanoparticles, and EDX analysis confirmed the composition, with significant peaks between 0.2 and 1.5 keV and at 2.55 keV. XRD analysis of MgO-IDA revealed diffraction peaks corresponding to the (111), (200), (220), (311), (422), (400), and (440) planes. Compared with IDA, MgO-IDA exhibited significant cytotoxic effects on the MCF-7 cell line and a reduced cell metastasis rate. Histochemical analysis revealed significant binding of MgO-IDA to folate receptors in breast cancer tissue. Additionally, enhanced release of IDA from MgO-IDA was observed in the presence of proteinase K. A hemolysis assay revealed less than 3.5 % hemolytic activity, confirming the biocompatibility of the nanocomposite with human RBCs. In vivo , studies have also revealed the nontoxic behavior of MgO NPs at a concentration of 250 mg kg −1 and that of MgO-IDA at 100 mg kg −1 . These results indicate that the synthesized nanocomposite is safe and efficient as a targeted drug delivery system for breast cancer therapy.