Preparation and Drug Release Properties of Fe3O4/Chitosan Magnetic Microspheres

Abstract

Fe3O4/chitosan(CS) magnetic microspheres were prepared by emulsion crosslinking method, in which 5-fluorouracil (5-Fu) was loaded as model drug. The preparation conditions were optimized by orthogonal experiment with the the package rate as an index. The structure and morphology of the magnetic microspheres were characterized by scanning electron microscopy(SEM). The drug release properties of the microspheres in vitro were investigated. The optimal preparation conditions of drug loaded magnetic microspheres were as follows: 0.3 g 5-Fu, 5 mL glutaraldehyde, 3 h crosslinking time and 0.2 g/ml acetic acid concentration. Under these conditions, the drug loading efficiency was up to 6.35% as well as the package rate was up to 35.2%. The Fe3O4/chitosan magnetic microspheres also displayed an excellent drug release behavior under the experimental conditions of simulated intestinal fluid. The releasing content reached a peak in 10 h.