Synthesis and characterization of mesoporous magnetic nanocomposites wrapped with chitosan gatekeepers for pH-sensitive controlled release of doxorubicin

Abstract

Multifunctional nanocarriers based on the FeO nanoparticles core and mesoporous silica shell (mSiO) were synthesized for controlled drug release through magnetic targeting and pH-sensitive performances. The developed FeO@mSiO nanocarriers exhibited a suitable size (63nm) and good magnetic responsibility, doxorubicin (DOX) could be successfully loaded into the mesoporous of FeO@mSiO via electrostatic interaction, and the drug loading content and loading efficiency are 29.3% and 93.6%, respectively. The chitosan (CS) was employed to wrap the FeO@mSiO-DOX as the blocking agent to inhibit premature drug release, and the final CS/FeO@mSiO-DOX exhibited excellent pH-sensitivity, 86.1% DOX was released within 48h at pH4.0. Furthermore, all the release behaviors fit the Higuchi model very well and a purely diffusion-controlled process played a major role on DOX release from CS/FeO@mSiO-DOX. In addition, MTT assays in human liver hepatocellular carcinoma cells (HepG2) demonstrated that the CS/FeO@mSiO-DOX had high anti-tumor activity, while the FeO@mSiO nanocarriers were practically non-toxic. Thus, our results revealed that the CS/FeO@mSiO-DOX could play an important role in the development of intracellular delivery nanodevices for cancer therapy.

pH-Responsive Charge-Conversional and Hemolytic Activities of Magnetic Nanocomposite Particles for Cell-Targeted Hyperthermia

“…Among pH-sensitive artificial and natural polymers, chitosan (CS) and its derivatives have been used to functionalize MNPs because of their excellent biorelated properties. 8 , 21 , 23 , 29 For example, CS-functionalized mesoporous MNPs were reported for pH-responsive controlled release of an antineoplastic drug. 29 CS was employed for enhancing their biocompatibility and electrostatic loading capacity of the drug molecules.…”

Current development of biodegradable polymeric materials for biomedical applications

“…For example, a pH-responsive magnetic nanocomposite was wrapped in chitosan for targeted and controlled drug delivery, and the yield product was found to be nontoxic and exhibited a high antitumor activity while maintaining its excellent pH sensitivity at pH <6.0. 102 …”

Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles: Properties and Strategies for Enhancing Clinical Effect

“…Chitosan is successfully used as a pH-sensitive gatekeeper in several MSN preclinical model studies [ 38 , 61 , 62 , 119 , 120 , 121 ]. Other polymers that demonstrate similar pH-sensitivity include polyvinyl pyridine [ 122 , 123 ], poly(L-histidine) [ 90 , 95 ], poly(acrylic acid) [ 124 , 125 , 126 ], gelatin [ 132 , 133 ], and polydopamine [ 112 , 137 , 138 , 139 ].…”