Functionalized halloysite multivalent glycocluster as a new drug delivery system

A new design for halloysite nanotube materials was obtained by grafting chemically modified cyclodextrinunits onto the nanotube surface. In particular, grafted cyclodextrins were decorated with thiosaccharidependants, in order to mimic the well-known binding of sugars to proteins and the glyco-cluster effectoccurring during cellular recognition events. The obtained materials were characterized by using acombination of varied techniques (FT-IR spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, scanning electronmicroscopy, dynamic light scattering, turbidimetry), and their potential drug-delivery abilities were testedby studying their interactions with the common naturally occurring anticancer agent curcumin. Asuitable model describing the interaction between our materials and curcumin is proposed.