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.
Highlights
Cancer is one of the leading causes of death globally, with about 1 in 6 deaths attributed to cancer.In most chemotherapy treatments, drugs are distributed over the whole body and cause side effects on healthy tissues
The results show that DG/FA NPs have the potential for use in targeted drug delivery and cancer therapy
There has been particular interest in drug-loaded magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs), which provide targeted drug delivery and have the potential to reduce the adverse effects caused by chemotherapy drugs [1,2]
Summary
Cancer is one of the leading causes of death globally, with about 1 in 6 deaths attributed to cancer. Polymers 2020, 12, 1747 is a method by which drugs are attached or encapsulated with MNPs and manipulated by an external magnetic field to reach the targeted area It can optimize the drug dosage and reduce the negative effect on healthy tissues. A coating on the surface can avoid these problems and increase the stability of Fe3 O4 NPs [12,13] Chemical compounds, such as small molecules (oleic acid, carboxylates, etc.), polymers (dextran, gelatin, polyvinyl alcohol, etc.), and inorganic materials (gold, silver, etc.), are common materials for coating [8]. Alginate chelates with divalent cations to form hydrogel or nanoparticles and interacts with cationic molecules through electrostatic reactions, making it suitable as a drug carrier [17,18] Due to their ideal properties of low cost, nonantigenicity, and ideal degradation rate, gelatin and alginate are commonly applied in biomedical applications. Drug release profile, and functional analysis of DG/FA MNPs were evaluated along with cell viability using Michigan Cancer Foundation-7 (MCF-7) cells
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