Enhancement of anti arthritic effect of quercetin using thioglycolic acid-capped cadmium telluride quantum dots as nanocarrier in adjuvant induced arthritic Wistar rats

•Enhancement of antiarthritic effect of quercetin (QE) using quantum dots (QDs) as nanocarrier.•Quantum dots enhance the efficacy of drug delivery.•QDs-QE complex has brought back the hematological changes in arthritic animals.•Cartilage regeneration in arthritic rats treated with QDs-QE complex was observed. In this present study, we investigated thio glycolic acid-capped cadmium telluride quantum dots (TGA-CdTe QDs) as nano carrier to study the antiarthritic activity of quercetin on adjuvant induced arthritic Wistar rats. The free radical scavenging activity of QDs-QE complex was evaluated by 2,2′-azinobis-3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid (ABTS), 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), nitric oxide (NO) and superoxide anion scavenging assays. Fifteen days after adjuvant induction, arthritic rats received QDs-QE complex orally at the dose of 0.2 and 0.4mg/kg daily for 3 weeks. Diclofenac sodium (DF) was used as a reference drug. Administration of QDs-QE complex showed a significant reduction in inflammation and improvement in cartilage regeneration. Treatment with QDs-QE complex significantly (P