Doxorubicin–Gelatin/Fe3O4–Alginate Dual-Layer Magnetic Nanoparticles as Targeted Anticancer Drug Delivery Vehicles

Abstract

In this study, magnetic nanoparticles composed of a core (doxorubicin–gelatin) and a shell layer (Fe3O4–alginate) were developed to function as targeted anticancer drug delivery vehicles. The anticancer drug doxorubicin (DOX) was selected as a model drug and embedded in the inner gelatin core to obtain high encapsulation efficiency. The advantage of the outer magnetic layer is that it targets the drug to the tumor tissue and provides controlled drug release. The physicochemical properties of doxorubicin–gelatin/Fe3O4–alginate nanoparticles (DG/FA NPs) were characterized using scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and X-ray diffraction. The mean diameter of DG/FA NPs, which was determined using a zeta potential analyzer, was 401.8 ± 3.6 nm. The encapsulation rate was 64.6 ± 11.8%. In vitro drug release and accumulation were also studied. It was found that the release of DOX accelerated in an acidic condition. With the manipulation of an external magnetic field, DG/FA NPs efficiently targeted Michigan Cancer Foundation-7 (MCF-7) breast cancer cells and showed in the nucleus after 6 h of incubation. After 12 h of incubation, the relative fluorescence intensity reached 98.4%, and the cell viability of MCF-7 cells decreased to 52.3 ± 4.64%. Dual-layer DG/FA NPs could efficiently encapsulate and deliver DOX into MCF-7 cells to cause the death of cancer cells. The results show that DG/FA NPs have the potential for use in targeted drug delivery and cancer therapy.

Synthesis and Characterization of a Fe3O4@PNIPAM-Chitosan Nanocomposite and Its Potential Application in Vincristine Delivery

“…The bands attributed to OA in the NpFe 3 O 4 sample do not belong to magnetite because this technique is not sensitive to this compound above 600 cm −1 . The above has been reported previously; for example, Chiung-Hua et al, (2020) presented IR spectra of Nps prepared with doxorubicin/gelatin/Fe 3 O 4 -alginate that showed some characteristic peaks of all components except magnetite for a range of 1000 to 4000 cm −1 [ 37 ]. A band is observed around 562 cm −1 , attributed to the Fe-O vibration of NpFe 3 O 4 ( Figure 3 b).…”

Functionalization of an Alginate-Based Material by Oxidation and Reductive Amination

“…Alginates are employed industrially for their viscosifying properties, water binding capacities and gelling properties [ 12 ], which correlate with the amount of GG blocks in the polymer chain as well as the presence of divalent cations in the aqueous medium [ 13 ]. These properties have allowed us to widen alginate applications, especially in biomedical areas, including wound healing [ 14 , 15 , 16 ], cell microencapsulation [ 17 , 18 , 19 ] and drug delivery systems [ 20 , 21 , 22 ]. However, the main limitation regarding these applications lies especially on low biocompatibility and poor mechanical properties, preventing the utilization of unmodified alginates for sophisticated biomedical areas such as cell immobilization [ 23 , 24 ].…”

Biopolymer Hydrogel Scaffolds Containing Doxorubicin as A Localized Drug Delivery System for Inhibiting Lung Cancer Cell Proliferation

“…The first reason is that the amount of DOX loaded into the scaffolds was relatively low. The second reason is that interactions may occur between the DOX and the gelatin or the SCMC, such as an electrostatic interaction, hydrogen bonding, and an intermolecular hydrophobic interaction [ 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 ]. The third reason is the high swelling degree of the polymer.…”