Abstract
In this study, we report the realization of drug-loaded smart magnetic nanocarriers constituted by superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles encapsulated in a dual pH- and temperature-responsive poly (N-vinylcaprolactam-co-acrylic acid) copolymer to achieve highly controlled drug release and localized magnetic hyperthermia. The magnetic core was constituted by flower-like magnetite nanoparticles with a size of 16.4 nm prepared by the polyol approach, with good saturation magnetization and a high specific absorption rate. The core was encapsulated in poly (N-vinylcaprolactam-co-acrylic acid) obtaining magnetic nanocarriers that revealed reversible hydration/dehydration transition at the acidic condition and/or at temperatures above physiological body temperature, which can be triggered by magnetic hyperthermia. The efficacy of the system was proved by loading doxorubicin with very high encapsulation efficiency (>96.0%) at neutral pH. The double pH- and temperature-responsive nature of the magnetic nanocarriers facilitated a burst, almost complete release of the drug at acidic pH under hyperthermia conditions, while a negligible amount of doxorubicin was released at physiological body temperature at neutral pH, confirming that in addition to pH variation, drug release can be improved by hyperthermia treatment. These results suggest this multi-stimuli-sensitive nanoplatform is a promising candidate for remote-controlled drug release in combination with magnetic hyperthermia for cancer treatment.
Highlights
Fe3 O4 Magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) were encapsulated in the dual pH- and temperaturesensitive copolymer PVCL-co-poly acrylic acid (PAA) to provide smart MNCs
The experimental work presented here was focused on the design of a novel smart magnetic nanocarrier, constituted by a nanometric Fe3 O4 core encapsulated in a stimuliresponsive polymeric shell for controlled drug delivery in combination with magnetic hyperthermia for cancer therapy
The MNPs were embedded in a dual pH- and temperature-responsive poly (N-vinylcaprolactam-coacrylic acid) to provide stimuli-responsive MNCs with lower critical solution temperature (LCST) ~40 ◦ C at pH 5.5 and ~45 ◦ C
Summary
Cancer is considered as the top detrimental disease in the world. Chemotherapy is one of the most widely used treatments for various types of cancers; this method suffers from several drawbacks and significant limitations, the major one being the nonspecificity of anticancer drugs, which may cause strong damage to healthy organs and cells during therapy. Magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) offer numerous advantages [1,2,3,4] including heat generation ability, lack of toxicity, high chemical stability, and good biocompatibility. All these properties confer to MNPs the potential to provide highly effective multimodal action
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