Abstract
The development of various magnetically-responsive nanostructures is of great importance in biomedicine. The controlled assembly of many small superparamagnetic nanocrystals into large multi-core clusters is needed for effective magnetic drug delivery. Here, we present a novel one-pot method for the preparation of multi-core clusters for drug delivery (i.e., magnetic nanocarriers). The method is based on hot homogenization of a hydrophobic phase containing a nonpolar surfactant into an aqueous phase, using ultrasonication. The solvent-free hydrophobic phase that contained tetradecan-1-ol, γ-Fe2O3 nanocrystals, orlistat, and surfactant was dispersed into a warm aqueous surfactant solution, with the formation of small droplets. Then, a pre-cooled aqueous phase was added for rapid cooling and the formation of solid magnetic nanocarriers. Two different nonpolar surfactants, polyethylene glycol dodecyl ether (B4) and our own N1,N1-dimethyl-N2-(tricosan-12-yl)ethane-1,2-diamine (SP11), were investigated for the preparation of MC-B4 and MC-SP11 magnetic nanocarriers, respectively. The nanocarriers formed were of spherical shape, with mean hydrodynamic sizes <160 nm, good colloidal stability, and high drug loading (7.65 wt.%). The MC-B4 nanocarriers showed prolonged drug release, while no drug release was seen for the MC-SP11 nanocarriers over the same time frame. Thus, the selection of a nonpolar surfactant for preparation of magnetic nanocarriers is crucial to enable drug release from nanocarrier.
Highlights
The continuous development of novel approaches to materials synthesis offers innovative solutions for many of the present challenges in the life sciences [1,2,3]
Two magnetic nanocarrier formulations that differed in their surfactants and were loaded with orlistat were successfully developed using one-pot preparation method
This method is based on hot homogenization of the hydrophobic phase that contains nonpolar surfactant into the aqueous phase by ultrasonication
Summary
The continuous development of novel approaches to materials synthesis offers innovative solutions for many of the present challenges in the life sciences [1,2,3]. Nanocrystals are the building blocks of composite or hybrid nanostructures, and they offer an innovative option to solve important challenges in medical diagnostics and therapeutics [4,5,6]. Among a number of promising inorganic nanocrystals, only magnetic iron oxide nanocrystals have generally been recognized as safe for human use by the regulatory agencies [7]. They should be precisely designed to avoid reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation in vivo. It was recently shown that the production of ROS was greatly dependent on a number of factors, including the size of the nanoparticles, concentration, surface properties and, importantly, the coating used [8,9]
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