A pH-controlled approach to fabricate electrolyte/non-electrolyte janus particles with low cytotoxicity as carriers of DOX

Abstract

Seeded emulsion polymerizations of 2-(dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate (DMAEMA) and methacrylic acid (MAA) were performed in presence of poly(2-hydroxyehtyl methacrylate) (PHEMA) particles as seed to fabricate Janus particles. By tuning the pH value of solution before polymerization, various solutions of protonated and deprotonated monomers were obtained. Then, different morphologies such as core-shell and dumbbell-like were fabricated as a result of pH variations. These composite particles were then used as carriers of DOX in different conditions. All samples showed high loading capacity and long-time release process. Although all morphologies showed insignificant cumulative release at pH = 7.4, release amount was increased to 50–75% at pH = 1. Finally, neat and DOX-loaded particles were introduced to cytotoxicity studies via an MTT assay. According results, PMAA-based particles had no mentionable cell toxicity whereas PDMAEMA-based ones had moderate cytotoxicity. Also, all drug-loaded particles prohibited cell growth significantly. However, DMAEMA-based particles killed more cells than PMAA-based composite particles.