Magnetic mesoporous silica nanoparticles coated with thermo-responsive copolymer for potential chemo- and magnetic hyperthermia therapy

Abstract

We developed a potential chemo- and magnetic hyperthermia therapeutic platform based on thermo-responsive copolymer coated magnetic mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MMSN@P(NIPAM-co-MAA)). The structure, magnetic heating capacity, drug release behavior, in vitro cytotoxicity, cell uptake, and synergistic therapeutic efficacy of MMSN@P(NIPAM-co-MAA) nanoparticles were investigated. The prepared superparamagnetic MMSN@P(NIPAM-co-MAA) nanoparticles had an average particle size of 255 ± 28 nm. The saturation magnetization was 6.2 emu/g and resulted in heat generation to hyperthermia temperature under an alternating magnetic field within a short period. MMSN@P(NIPAM-co-MAA) nanoparticles could load doxorubicin hydrochloride (DOX), and exhibited temperature- and pH-responsive drug release behavior. Importantly, MMSN@P(NIPAM-co-MAA) nanoparticles had low cytotoxicity and were internalized by HeLa cells. The DOX-loaded nanoparticles showed a synergistic effect that combined chemo- and magnetic hyperthermia therapy, resulting in higher efficacy to kill cancer cells. Thus, MMSN@P(NIPAM-co-MAA) nanoparticles have great potential for cancer therapy.