Evaluation of folic acid tagged aminated starch/ZnO coated iron oxide nanoparticles as targeted curcumin delivery system

•ZnO incorporated aminated starch coated iron oxide nanoparticles were prepared for targeted delivery of the anticancer agent, curcumin.•The prepared nanoparticles showed significant in vitro controlled release of curcumin.•The nanoparticles were compatible with human lymphocytes while showed inhibitory effect on cancer cells.•Folic acid tagging to the nanoparticles resulted into enhanced cellular uptake along with significant ROS generations. The role of ‘superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles’ has gained considerable interest in various biomedical applications. However extensive researches are still going on to modify the nanoparticle size, surface properties etc. in order to get full benefit of the material. In this study, iron oxide nanoparticles have been modified with folic acid tagged aminated starch/ZnO coating to formulate a targeted drug delivery system. The nanoparticles were characterized by Fourier Transform Infra-red Spectroscopy, X-ray Diffraction, Scanning Electron Microscopy and Transmission Electron Microscopy. Both the swelling and in vitro drug release was performed in both acidic and alkaline pH. The cytotoxicity of the drug loaded nanoparticles was analysed by MTT assay in human lymphocytes, HepG2 and MCF7 cell lines. The cell uptake efficiencies and Reactive Oxygen Species generation with the drug loaded nanoparticles was estimated in HepG2 cell lines. The uptake capacity of fluorescein isothiocyanate tagged nanoparticles was assessed by fluorescence microscope.