Glutaraldehyde crosslinked doxorubicin promotes drug delivery efficiency using cobalt ferrite nanoparticles

Abstract

Doxorubicin (DOX) is a common chemotherapy agent that is used in clinics for the treatment of a wide spectrum of cancers. Herein, a novel approach for improving doxorubicin loading on nanoparticles and also controlled release is suggested using crosslinking doxorubicin molecules with glutaraldehyde. We investigated the loading efficiency of doxorubicin on CoFe2O4 nanoparticles in the absence and presence of glutaraldehyde. Based on the feasible, one-pot, and time-saving approach suggested here, the crosslinked DOX showed loading efficiency about twice more in comparison with the non-crosslinked DOX. In vitro doxorubicin release of three formulations including DOX crosslinked with glutaraldehyde (DOXGA), DOX loaded on CoFe2O4 (CFDOX) and DOX loaded on CoFe2O4 using glutaraldehyde (CFDOXGA) yielded a sustained release. The kinetic models such as first-order, Sahlin-Peppas, and Higuchi were employed for further exploration of DOX release profile. Our suggested method might extend to other nanomaterial-based drug delivery formulations to promote drug delivery efficiency.