Soy flour–ZnO nanoparticles for controlled release of silibinin: Effect of ZnO nanoparticle, surfactant, and cross-linker

Silibinin-loaded soy flour-zinc oxide nanoparticle (ZnO) nanoparticles were prepared and characterized by different techniques. The average particle size and zeta potential value of the nanoparticles were found in the range 10-15nm and -29.88 to -40.85mV, respectively. The effects of ZnO nanoparticle, surfactant, and cross-linker were evaluated with regard to swelling, encapsulation efficiency, and drug release in different pH medium. Both swelling degree (%) and cumulative release (%) were better in pH 7.4 and maximum cumulative release (%) was 50%. Cytotoxicity study was performed by MTT assay using normal human blood and MDA-MB-435S cancer cell lines. [GRAPHICS]