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Bioactive glasses (BGs) are being increasingly considered for biomedical applications. One convenient approach to utilize BGs in tissue engineering and drug delivery involves their combination with organic biomaterials in order to form composites with enhanced biocompatibility and biodegradability. In this work, mesoporous bioactive glass nanoparticles (MBGN) have been merged with polyhydroxyalkanoate microspheres with the purpose to develop drug carriers. The composite carriers (microspheres) were loaded with curcumin as a model drug. The toxicity and delivery rate of composite microspheres were tested in vitro, reaching a curcumin loading efficiency of over 90% and an improving of biocompatibility of different concentrations of MBGN due to its administrations through the composite. The composite microspheres were tested in terms of controlled release, biocompatibility and bioactivity. Our results demonstrate that the composite microspheres can be potentially used in biomedicine due to their dual effects: bioactivity (due to the presence of MBGN) and curcumin release capability.

Superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles have been developed for various biomedical applications for decades. In this work, lauric acid-coated SPION (SPIONLA) were incorporated into poly (3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV) at different ratios to produce composite microspheres, which were evaluated for their properties, including potential cytotoxicity. Additionally, a phytotherapeutic extract, curcumin, was loaded into the resulting microspheres to develop magnetic drug delivery capsules. The results show a significant improvement in the cytocompatibility after 7 days of SPIONLA administrated in cells through the composite microspheres compared to pristine SPIONLA. The composite also exhibited prolonged cumulative release of curcumin in a simulated body fluid environment. The results confirmed the efficacy of the mixture of PHBV and curcumin in attenuating potential side effects due to direct administration of high initial amounts of SPIONLA while maintaining magnetic properties in the resulting composite. The results add evidence to the potential of these composite devices for targeted drug delivery applications.