A Comparative DFT Investigation of the Adsorption of Temozolomide Anticancer Drug over Beryllium Oxide and Boron Nitride Nanocarriers

Abstract

Herein, attempts were made to explore the adsorption prospective of beryllium oxide (Be₁₂O₁₂) and boron nitride (B₁₂N₁₂) nanocarriers toward the temozolomide (TMZ) anticancer drug. A systematic investigation of the TMZ adsorption over nanocarriers was performed by using quantum chemical density functional theory (DFT). The favorability of Be₁₂O₁₂ and B₁₂N₁₂ nanocarriers toward loading TMZ was investigated through A↔D configurations. Substantial energetic features of the proposed configurations were confirmed by negative adsorption (<i>E</i> _ads) energy values of up to -30.47 and -26.94 kcal/mol for TMZ•••Be₁₂O₁₂ and •••B₁₂N₁₂ complexes within configuration A, respectively. As per SAPT results, the dominant contribution beyond the studied adsorptions was found for the electrostatic forces (<i>E</i> _elst = -100.21 and -63.60 kcal/mol for TMZ•••B₁₂N₁₂ and •••Be₁₂O₁₂ complexes within configuration A, respectively). As a result of TMZ adsorption, changes in the energy of molecular orbitals followed by alterations in global reactivity descriptors were observed. Various intermolecular interactions within the studied complexes were assessed by QTAIM analysis. Notably, a favorable adsorption process was also observed under the effect of water with adsorption energy ( reaching -28.05 and -22.26 kcal/mol for TMZ•••B₁₂N₁₂ and •••Be₁₂O₁₂ complexes within configuration A, respectively. The drug adsorption efficiency of the studied nanocarriers was further examined by analyzing the IR and Raman spectra. From a sustained drug delivery point of view, the release pattern of TMZ from the nanocarrier surface was investigated by recovery time calculations. Additionally, the significant role of doping by heavy atoms (i.e., MgBe₁₁O₁₂ and AlB₁₁N₁₂) on the favorability of TMZ adsorption was investigated and compared to pure analogs (i.e., Be₁₂O₁₂ and B₁₂N₁₂). The obtained data from thermodynamic calculations highlighted that the adsorption process over pure and doped nanocarriers was spontaneous and exothermic. The emerging findings provide a theoretical base for future works related to nanocarrier applications in the drug delivery process, especially for the TMZ anticancer drug.