Bifunctional folic-conjugated aspartic-modified FeO nanocarriers for efficient targeted anticancer drug delivery.

Functionalization of nanocarriers has been considered the most promising way of ensuring an accurate and targeted drug delivery system. This study reports the synthesis of bifunctional folic-conjugated aspartic-modified FeO nanocarriers with an excellent ability to deliver doxorubicin (DOX), an anticancer drug, into the intercellular matrix. Here, the presence of amine and carboxylate groups enables aspartic acid (AA) to be used as an efficient anchoring molecule for the conjugation of folic acid (FA) (EDC-NHS coupling) and DOX (electrostatic interaction).