Chemical Energy Conversion and Application (ChECA), Malaysia-Japan International Institute of Technology (MJIIT), Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Jalan Sultan Yahya Petra, Kuala Lumpur 54100, Malaysia.
Department of Medical Sciences, School of Healthcare and Medical Sciences, Sunway University, Jalan, Universiti, Bandar Sunway, Selangor Darul Ehsan 47500, Malaysia.
Int J Mol Sci. 2020 Jul 9;21(14):4851. doi: 10.3390/ijms21144851.
Discovery of a novel anticancer drug delivery agent is important to replace conventional cancer therapies which are often accompanied by undesired side effects. This study demonstrated the synthesis of superparamagnetic magnetite nanocomposites (FeO-NCs) using a green method. Montmorillonite (MMT) was used as matrix support, while FeO nanoparticles (NPs) and carrageenan (CR) were used as filler and stabilizer, respectively. The combination of these materials resulted in a novel nanocomposite (MMT/CR/FeO-NCs). A series of characterization experiments was conducted. The purity of MMT/CR/FeO-NCs was confirmed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis. High resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) analysis revealed the uniform and spherical shape of FeO NPs with an average particle size of 9.3 ± 1.2 nm. Vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) analysis showed an M value of 2.16 emu/g with negligible coercivity which confirmed the superparamagnetic properties. Protocatechuic acid (PCA) was loaded onto the MMT/CR/FeO-NCs and a drug release study showed that 15% and 92% of PCA was released at pH 7.4 and 4.8, respectively. Cytotoxicity assays showed that both MMT/CR/FeO-NCs and MMT/CR/FeO-PCA effectively killed HCT116 which is a colorectal cancer cell line. Dose-dependent inhibition was seen and the killing was enhanced two-fold by the PCA-loaded NCs (IC-0.734 mg/mL) compared to the unloaded NCs (IC-1.5 mg/mL). This study highlights the potential use of MMT/CR/FeO-NCs as a biologically active pH-responsive drug delivery agent. Further investigations are warranted to delineate the mechanism of cell entry and cancer cell killing as well as to improve the therapeutic potential of MMT/CR/FeO-NCs.
发现新型抗癌药物递送剂对于替代传统癌症疗法非常重要，因为传统癌症疗法常常伴有不良的副作用。本研究采用绿色方法，合成了超顺磁磁铁矿纳米复合材料（FeO-NCs）。蒙脱土（MMT）用作基质支持物，而 FeO 纳米颗粒（NPs）和卡拉胶（CR）分别用作填充剂和稳定剂。这些材料的组合产生了一种新型纳米复合材料（MMT/CR/FeO-NCs）。进行了一系列的特征分析实验。X 射线衍射（XRD）分析证实了 MMT/CR/FeO-NCs 的纯度。高分辨率透射电子显微镜（HRTEM）分析显示，FeO NPs 的形状均匀且呈球形，平均粒径为 9.3±1.2nm。振动样品磁强计（VSM）分析显示，M 值为 2.16 emu/g，矫顽力可忽略不计，这证实了超顺磁性。原儿茶酸（PCA）被加载到 MMT/CR/FeO-NCs 上，药物释放研究表明，在 pH 值为 7.4 和 4.8 时，分别有 15%和 92%的 PCA 被释放。细胞毒性测定表明，MMT/CR/FeO-NCs 和 MMT/CR/FeO-PCA 都能有效地杀死 HCT116 结肠癌细胞系。观察到剂量依赖性抑制作用，与未加载 PCA 的 NCs（IC-0.734mg/mL）相比，加载 PCA 的 NCs（IC-0.734mg/mL）的杀伤作用增强了两倍（IC-0.734mg/mL）。本研究强调了 MMT/CR/FeO-NCs 作为具有生物活性的 pH 响应性药物递送剂的潜在用途。需要进一步的研究来阐明细胞进入和癌细胞杀伤的机制，并提高 MMT/CR/FeO-NCs 的治疗潜力。
