Biodegradable Magnetic Molecularly Imprinted Anticancer Drug Carrier for the Targeted Delivery of Docetaxel

Abstract

Molecularly imprinted biodegradable polymers are receiving considerable attention in drug delivery due to their ability of targeted recognition and biocompatibility. This study reports the synthesis of a novel fluorescence-active magnetic molecularly imprinted drug carrier (MIDC) using a glucose-based biodegradable cross-linking agent for the delivery of anticancer drug docetaxel. The magnetic molecularly imprinted polymer (MMIP) was characterized through scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction spectroscopy, and vibrating sample magnetometry (VSM). The MMIP presented a magnetization value of 0.0059 emu g –1 and binding capacity of 72 mg g –1 with docetaxel. In vitro and in vivo studies were performed to observe the effectiveness of the MIDC for drug delivery. The cell viability assay suggested that the MMIP did not present toxic effects on healthy cells. The magnetic property of the MMIP allowed quick identification of the drug carrier at the target site by applying the external magnetic field to mice (after 20 min of loading) and taking X-ray images. The novel MMIP-based drug carrier could thus deliver the drug at the target site without affecting the healthy cells.

Molecularly Imprinted Polymer-Coated Inorganic Nanoparticles: Fabrication and Biomedical Applications

“…Importantly, even when a biological receptor is unknown, imprinting technology can allow the generation of a tailor-made receptor-like material. These attractive features have expanded the application areas of MIPs from chemical separation [13,14], selective extraction [15], and catalysis [16,17] to molecular sensing [6,[18][19][20][21][22], bioimaging [4], and drug delivery [23][24][25]. Given the ever-increasing importance of point-of-care testing devices [26,27], MIPs with microfluidic systems creates new devices and enables their utilization in point-of-care applications [28].…”

Molecularly Imprinted Carriers for Diagnostics and Therapy—A Critical Appraisal

“…From our perspective, it is important to pay special attention not only to the biocompatibility of MIPs, but also (if possible) to the biodegradability of MIPs as materials for theranostics. For example, as components, carboxymethyl cellulose–chitosan/alginate composite [ 86 ], Konjac glucomannan extracted from Konjac tubers [ 87 ], tannic acid [ 88 ], fructose [ 89 ], and glucose [ 90 ] have been examined as the potential materials to form MIPs as drug carriers. Those naturally derived compounds can easily undergo reactions to provide specific functional groups, which are limited due to their low selectivity.…”

Molecularly Imprinted Drug Carrier for Lamotrigine—Design, Synthesis, and Characterization of Physicochemical Parameters

“…However, it must be underlined that the most rapidly expanding area for the application of molecularly imprinted polymer drug carriers is related to cancer therapy and diagnosis [32]. Here, the molecularly imprinted polymer for 4-borono-L-phenylalanine in boron neutron capture therapy [33], the magnetic molecularly imprinted carrier for the targeted delivery of the anticancer drug docetaxel [34], the pH-responsive magnetic molecularly imprinted polymer [35], or zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 molecularly imprinted polymer [36] for prostate cancer therapy could serve as very interesting examples.…”