Castor Folate Ester Niosomes: Enhancing Doxorubicin Hydrochloride Delivery and Stability

Targeted drug delivery systems have been developed to overcome the disadvantages of conventional drug delivery systems and folate is one of the targeting molecules that has received attention in recent years. The attachment of this molecule to the surface of niosomal carriers has been achieved using Castor oil as an intermediate molecule. We synthesized caster folate (CF) and incorporate to noisome structure as biocompatible component for targeted delivery of anticancer drug Doxorubicin. This research studies the novelty of castor folate ester in the scope of niosome-based drug delivery systems. The aim was to investigate the feasibility of manufacturing and evaluating a niosomal carrier containing the drug doxorubicin hydrochloride (DOX) and its targeting by the combination of CF. The results of Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) confirm chemical bounding between folic acid and castor oil. SEM showed good morphology with spherical structure of niosomes. These niosomes have particles size of 330 to 538 nm for different samples. Also, zeta potential was -28 to -40 mV that results good stability. The addition of CF to niosomal samples increased wettability and drug loading efficacy and along with DLS and zeta potential results confirms the folate impact on surface hydrophilicity of niosome spheres. The prepared formulations increased the effectiveness of doxorubicin on L929 fibroblast cells. The proposed biocompatible component showed the role of CF in the architectural integrity of niosomal lipid bilayers.