Preparation and Evaluation of Folic Acid-TPGS Polymeric Micelle as a Quercetin Anticancer Drug Carrier

Quercetin is a bioactive compound with anticancer property. However, it is poorly soluble in water which limits its clinical applications. In the present study, polymeric micelles consist of quercetin core at different proportions and FA-TPGS shell were prepared and analyzed for their particle size, surface morphology, critical micelle concentration (CMC), in vitro drug release and in vitro cytotoxicity. It was observed that the quercetin polymeric micelles (QUE PMs) size increase with increasing drug concentration and exhibited spherical shape. Low CMC values in the range of 0.008 %w/v and 0.04 %w/v observed in analyzed QUE PMs indicated that these micelles were stable. In vitro drug release profile of QUE PMs revealed that initial burst of quercetin occurred within 12 h of incubation followed by sustained release of quercetin until 48 h of incubation. Higher cellular uptake of QUE PMs by MCF-7 breast cancer cells was observed from reduced cell viability in between 54.2% to 75.1% after treatment for 24 h. From these results, the ability of FA-TPGS to carry quercetin in its polymeric core has been successfully evaluated. It is suggested that these synthesized polymeric micelles can be a promising quercetin drug carrier specifically for cancer treatment.