LAUSR

Abstract Novel β-cyclodextrin-grafted-N-vinylcaprolactam nanogel structures (β-CD-g-PNVCL NG) were synthesized with different ratios by free radical graft copolymerization in aqueous media. The synthetic nanogel structures were characterized by different techniques including XRD, FT-IR, SEM, HRTEM, TGA, and DSC as an advanced carrier for 5-fluorouracil drug (5-FU) with stunning loading properties and controlled release behavior. The results revealed that the preparation of the gel at 1 (β-CD):5 (PNVCL) ratio resulted in the best loading capacity (qmax 659.7 mg/g) and the most controlled releasing profile. The loading behavior can be described excellently by Langmuir model followed by the Freundlich model reflecting homogenous and monolayer loading of the adsorbed 5-FU molecules. Additionally, the adsorption energy (11.62 KJ/mol) from the Dubinin–Radushkevich model revealed chemical uptake for the drug molecules. The releasing profile is of controlled features and continued for 30 h especially in the intestinal fluid (pH 7.4) without complete releasing of the loaded 5-FU drug molecules and the maximum released percentage is 68 %. The pharmacokinetics studies for the commonly inspected theoretical models reflected the best fitting of the results with the Higuchi model as well as the Korsmeyer-Peppas model. The obtained values of the diffusion exponent related to non-Fickian transport behavior and associated with diffusion and erosion as releasing mechanisms with dominance for the diffusion process during the initial stages. β-CD-g-PNVCL NG is of low cytotoxicity on the normal cells and after loading it by 5-FU drug it showed higher toxicity effect than the free 5-FU drug molecules on HCT-116 cells which confirmed the role of β-CD-g-PNVCL NG carrier in enhancing the performance of 5-FU drug as anticancer chemotherapy.