Fabrication of chitosan/MWCNT nanocomposite as a carrier for 5-fluorouracil and a study of the cytotoxicity of 5-fluorouracil encapsulated nanocomposite towards MCF-7

Polymer matrix type chitosan/multiwalled carbon nanotube nanocomposite and 5-fluorouracil encapsulated chitosan/multiwalled carbon nanotube nanocomposite have been successfully synthesized by the chemical method. The prepared nanocomposites were characterized using XRD, FTIR, UV, HRTEM, SAED and the release profile of 5-FU from the nanocomposite system has been evaluated. The XRD pattern of the chitosan/multiwalled carbon nanotube nanocomposite shows the presence of planes corresponding to both chitosan and MWCNT and that of drug-encapsulated nanocomposite shows the presence of peaks of 5-fluorouracil in addition to the other two moieties. Binding of carbon nanotube to the NH 2 and OH groups of chitosan has been elucidated using FTIR. The encapsulation of 5-fluorouracil to the nanocomposite has been verified using elemental mapping and SAED studies apart from XRD. The encapsulation efficiency of 5-FU into the nanocomposite has been calculated and is 97 %. The cytotoxicity of the nanocomposite towards the breast cancer cell line (MCF-7) has been studied.