Title:In vitro and Bioimaging Studies of Mesoporous Silica Nanocomposites
Encapsulated Iron-oxide and Loaded Doxorubicin Drug (DOX/IO@Silica)
as Magnetically Guided Drug Delivery System
Volume: 24
Issue: 10
Author(s): Hemant Kumar, Balaram Pani*, Jitender Kumar and Pramod Kumar*
Affiliation:
- Department of Chemistry, Bhaskaracharya College of Applied Sciences,
University of Delhi, Delhi, 110075, India
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Sciences, School of Physical and
Material Sciences, Eternal University Baru Sahib, Central University of Himachal Pradesh, Dharamshala, Himachal
Pradesh, India
Keywords:
Mesoporous silica nanocomposites (MSN’s), core-shell iron oxide/silica nanocomposites (IO@Silica), the iron oxide (IO), magnetically guided drug delivery, (DOX), in-vivo.
Abstract:
Background: In recent years, the delivery of drugs by nanocomposites has emerged as an
exciting field of research for bio-imaging tools and targeted cancer treatment. The large surface area
and porous volume of mesoporous silica nanocomposites (MSN’s) have gained a lot of interest for
their application in the delivery of drugs and the magnetic properties of iron oxide (IO) nanocomposites
play a key role in the targeted delivery system.
Methods: In this study, mesoporous silica encapsulated IO nanocomposites loaded with doxorubicin
(DOX) were synthesized for the magnetically guided delivery of anticancer drugs. The synthesis of
IO nanocomposites was done through the precipitation method, and then silica encapsulation and
drug loading were done by the StÖber method.
Results: The magnetically driven delivery of the drug is produced by the encapsulation of magnetically
active IO in the mesoporous silica shell. The controlled release of DOX is possible because of
the MSN’s. TEM images show that the nanocomposites have a spherical morphology and average
diameter in the range of 120 nm. Power-XRD data confirm the crystalline nature of nanocomposites.
The strong absorption peak was observed in UV-Visible spectroscopy at 490 nm and quenching in
fluorescence spectra confirms the encapsulation of DOX in the mesoporous silica shell. VSM data
showed the magnetic nature of nanocomposites, with large magnetic susceptibility (74.88 emu/g).
The use of DOX/IO@Silica nanocomposites as a sustainable drug release and targeted drug delivery
vehicle has been reported here. The pH dependent release of DOX was studied and significant release
was observed at lower pH. In-vitro cell viability assay and fluorescence imaging assay have
demonstrated that these nanocomposites show significant dose-dependent toxicity to cancer cells in
the presence of a magnetic field.
Conclusion: In-vitro studies via the MTT assay showed that these synthesized nanocomposites in
culture are non-toxic to healthy cells compared to DOX-induced cytotoxicity due its controlled release
and can be further strengthened by magnetic guidance. Therefore, due to its optical properties
and potential for guided delivery of drug to the targeted site, these nanocomposites are ideal as an
anticancer agent and bio-imaging prob.
