Development of Cockleshell (Anadara granosa) Derived CaCO₃ Nanoparticle for Doxorubicin Delivery

Despite the progress made in cancer treatment, difficulties are encountered with tumour targeting due to cancer structural complexity. The synthesis of homogenous calcium carbonate (CaCO₃) nanoparticles could be a carrier for doxorubicin in the management of bone cancer due to its osteoconductive and physicochemical properties with simple synthesis method to produce large scale. Among the nanocarriers, CaCO₃ nanoparticles have exhibited promising potential as targeting drug nanocarrier. The aim of this study is to synthesised and characterised doxorubicin-conjugated CaCO₃ nanoparticle (CS-CaCO₃NP-DOX), using a simple precipitation and mechanical approach to synthesise homogeneous CaCO₃NP from cockleshell. The oven-dried nanoparticles were further characterised for its physicochemical properties before and after conjugating with doxorubicin. A homogenous aragonite, spherical, porous nanocarrier was obtained with a mean diameter of 24.9 nm and zeta potential of –21 mV. The energy dispersion X-ray analysis revealed high proportion of calcium as a major element in the nanoparticle. The spectrum peak suggests little alteration upon incorporation of doxorubicin. Higher loading content and encapsulation efficiency were recorded with CS-CaCO₃NP. These properties underscore the potential of CS-CaCO₃NP in the delivery of doxorubicin, thus giving it a high potential for application in the delivery of the anticancer in the management of cancers.