Preparation, characterization, and in-vitro studies of doxorubicin-encapsulated silica coated iron oxide nanocomposites on liver cancer cells

Abstract

This research aims at the synthesis and characterization of silica modified magnetic iron oxide (IONP-SiO2) nanocomposites through a hydrothermal method. These nanocomposites will function as nanocarriers for doxorubicin (DOX) drug delivery system towards liver cancer therapy. Core–shells of monodispersed, spherical shaped, and nanosized nanocomposites were determined using the transmission electron microscopy. In addition, the X-ray powder diffraction patterns indicated the crystallization of the as-synthetized nanocomposites with diffraction peak at 2θ = 35.44° consistent to that of Fe3O4 (311). The XANES spectra of the iron atom in various samples demonstrated an absorbance feature (Fe = 7112 eV) of a 1 s to 3d transition. The characteristic bands between 1625, 1091, and 460 cm−1 are corresponding to the stretching vibration bends of Si-O bonds, indicating an effective coating of SiO2 on the surface of IONPs. The cell cytotoxicity tests indicated that there were no considerable cell toxicities observed among the Huh 7 and HepG2 liver cancer cells incubated using various concentrations of IONPs and IONP-SIO2. Interestingly, cell viability tests showed that after DOX encapsulation, the IONP-SIO2-DOX complex was able to induce more cell apoptosis or necrosis. This study presents an interdisciplinary work to create a new formulation of DOX delivery in liver cancer therapy with consequential advanced treatment. The IONP-SiO2 based drug delivery mechanism would be a possible mechanism to enhancing targeted delivery of conventional chemotherapeutic drugs and MRI imaging.