Synthesis, characterization and cytotoxicity of chitosan-coated Fe3O4 nanoparticles functionalized with ascorbic acid for biomedical applications

Abstract

Iron oxide magnetic nanoparticles (Fe3O4 NPs) are used to drive and to promote sustained release of drugs in target sites. Biocompatibility and superparamagnetic behaviour are important features to the successful biomedical applications of Fe3O4 NPs. In this study, Fe3O4 NPs were synthesized by the co-precipitation method and coated with chitosan (CS) containing ascorbic acid (AA), allowing formation of Fe3O4@CS-AA NPs. The antioxidant AA was used as a drug model. The synthesized NPs were characterized by different techniques. The results showed the formation of spherical nanoparticles with average diameter of 67.22 ± 0.82 nm, at solid state, as analysed by atomic force microscopy (AFM). The NPs were found to have a superparamagnetic behaviour at room temperature, and the presence of CS-AA on the surface of Fe3O4 NPs did not affect the superparamagnetic behaviour of the nanoparticles. The in vitro AA release assay showed a sustained release of the model drug from Fe3O4@CS-AA NPs for at least 48 h. In addition, cytotoxicity assays for Fe3O4 NPs and Fe3O4@CS-AA NPs did not show significant toxicity towards mammary epithelium (MCF-10A) cell line after 24 h of incubation. This present study demonstrated the successful synthesis of superparamagnetic and biocompatible Fe3O4@CS-AA NPs, which are able to release the model drug in a sustained manner. Thus, this nanomaterial might act as a nanocarrier in target drug release.