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Facile Solvothermal Synthesis of Mesostructured Fe 3 O 4 /Chitosan Nanoparticles as Delivery Vehicles for pH‐Responsive Drug Delivery and Magnetic Resonance Imaging Contrast Agents
Author(s) -
Zhao Guanghui,
Wang Jianzhi,
Peng Xiaomen,
Li Yanfeng,
Yuan Xuemei,
Ma Yingxia
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
chemistry – an asian journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.18
H-Index - 106
eISSN - 1861-471X
pISSN - 1861-4728
DOI - 10.1002/asia.201301072
Subject(s) - chitosan , drug delivery , ethylene glycol , nanoparticle , materials science , nanotechnology , nuclear chemistry , chemistry , chemical engineering , polymer chemistry , organic chemistry , engineering
We report a facile fabrication of a host–metal–guest coordination‐bonding system in a mesostructured Fe 3 O 4 /chitosan nanoparticle that can act as a pH‐responsive drug‐delivery system. The mesostructured Fe 3 O 4 /chitosan was synthesized by a solvothermal approach with iron(III) chloride hexahydrate as a precursor, ethylene glycol as a reducing agent, ammonium acetate as a porogen, and chitosan as a surface‐modification agent. Subsequently, doxorubicin (DOX), acting as a model drug (guest), was loaded onto the mesostructured Fe 3 O 4 /chitosan nanoparticles, with chitosan acting as a host molecule to form the NH 2 Zn II DOX coordination architecture. The release of DOX can be achieved through the cleavage of coordination bonds that are sensitive to variations in external pH under weakly acidic conditions. The pH‐responsive nature of the nanoparticles was confirmed by in vitro releases and cell assay tests. Furthermore, the relaxation efficiency of the nanoparticles as high‐performance magnetic resonance imaging contrast agents was also investigated. Experimental results confirm that the synthesized mesostructured Fe 3 O 4 /chitosan is a smart nanovehicle for drug delivery owing to both its pH‐responsive nature and relaxation efficiency.