Magnetic Iron Oxide Nanoparticles Coated with Polyethylene and Gold as a Suitable Carrier for Doxorubicin and its Effect on Mcf-7 Breast Cancer Cells

Nanotechnology always seeks to provide new solutions for targeted delivery of chemotherapy drugs, in order to increase the quality of cancer treatment and reduce the side effects of chemotherapy. The aim of this study was to load the anticancer drug doxorubicin on Magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles were subjected to physico-chemical evaluation for their effect on MCF-7 cells.

This research was a descriptive-analytical study. In this laboratory research, iron oxide nanoparticles were first synthesized by precipitation method. Then they were coated with polyethylene imine and gold. After loading the drug doxorubicin into the magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles, the physiochemical parameters of the nanosystem from the point of view of insertion efficiency, drug release profile under similar conditions of healthy and cancer cells, size, zeta potential and morphology were determined.

The magnetic nanocarriers had a diameter of 90 nm and a zeta potential of 66.7 mV. The maximum release of the drug from the nanosystem at 37°C, pH=7.4 and 42°C, pH=5.4 and after 48 hourswas 48% and 66%, respectively. The SEM analysis showed the spherical morphology and the absence of chemical interaction between the nanosystem and the drug. The investigation of the performance of the nanosystem indicated an increase in the toxicity of encapsulated doxorubicin compared to free doxorubicin at similar concentrations on the MCF_7 strain.

The results of this research showed that the magnetic iron oxide nanoparticle system, while having appropriate physiochemical characteristics, does not change the chemical nature of the drug and can be a suitable and semi-targeted carrier for the anticancer drug doxorubicin.