Facile Solvothermal Synthesis of Mesostructured Fe3O4/Chitosan Nanoparticles as Delivery Vehicles for pH‐Responsive Drug Delivery and Magnetic Resonance Imaging Contrast Agents. Issue 2 (20th November 2013)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Zhao, Guanghui; Wang, Jianzhi; Peng, Xiaomen; Li, Yanfeng; Yuan, Xuemei; Ma, Yingxia
• Is Part Of: Chemistry, an Asian journal. Volume 9:Issue 2(2014:Feb.)
• Page Start: 546
• Page End: 553
• Publication Date: 2013-11-20
• Subjects: Chemistry -- Periodicals; 540.5
• DOI: 10.1002/asia.201301072
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1861-4728

Abstract

<abstract abstract-type="main" xml:lang="en"> <title>Abstract</title> <p>We report a facile fabrication of a host–metal–guest coordination‐bonding system in a mesostructured Fe₃O₄/chitosan nanoparticle that can act as a pH‐responsive drug‐delivery system. The mesostructured Fe₃O₄/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 Fe₃O₄/chitosan nanoparticles, with chitosan acting as a host molecule to form the NH₂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 Fe₃O₄/chitosan is a smart nanovehicle for drug delivery owing to both its pH‐responsive nature and relaxation efficiency.</p> </abstract>