ROS-responsive chitosan coated magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles as potential vehicles for targeted drug delivery in cancer therapy

Background and Objective: Cancer cells accumulate high concentrations of reactive oxygen species as a result of their faster and uninhibited metabolic activity. Cancer chemother-apeutic agents release an excess of severe adverse reactions as a result of targeting normal cells. This demands an improvement in targeted drug-delivery systems to selectively discharge antic-ancer drugs in the vicinity of such highly metabolically and mitotically active cells. Materials and Methods: Here, magnetic nanoparticles were synthesized by a traditional co-precipitation technique. Fe₃O₄@OA-CS-5-FLU-NPs were synthesized by an easy and rapid in situ loading method. The proposed Fe₃O₄@OA-CS-5-FLU-NPs were productively prepared as well as characterized by various spectroscopic and microscopic studies. Results: The targeted drug release profile of the Fe₃O₄@OA-CS-5-FLU-NPs was studied in the presence of ROS including H₂O₂ and pH induction. The released product, Fe₃O₄@OA-CS-5-FLU-NP, exhibited desirable levels of cytotoxicity and demonstrated morphological changes and inhibition of colony formation for A549 and HeLa S3 cancer cells. The IC50 values at 24 hours were 12.9 and 23 μg/mL, respectively. Conclusion: In summary, results from the MTT assay, fluorescence staining as well as colony formation assays, revealed that the Fe₃O₄@OA-CS-5-FLU-NPs were active and safe for antic-ancer biomedical applications. In summary, the present investigation provides a powerful nanos-tructured based system for improved cancer theranostics that should be further studied.