Synthesis of Imatinib-loaded chitosan-modified magnetic nanoparticles as an anti-cancer agent for pH responsive targeted drug delivery

Targeted drug delivery is a promising approach to overcome the limitations of classical chemotherapy. In this respect, Imatinib-loaded chitosan-modified magnetic nanoparticles were prepared as a pH sensitive system for targeted delivery of drug to tumor sites by applying a magnetic field. The proposed magnetic nanoparticles were prepared through modification of magnetic Fe3O4 nanoparticles with chitosan and Imatinib. The structural, morphological and physicochemical properties of the synthesized nanoparticles were determined by different analytical techniques including energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM), vibrating sample magnetometry (VSM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). UV/visible spectrophotometry was used to measure the Imatinib contents. Thermal stability of the prepared particles was investigated and their efficiency of drug loading and release profile were evaluated. The results demonstrated that Fe3O4@CS acts as a pH responsive nanocarrier in releasing the loaded Imatinib molecules. Furthermore, the Fe3O4@CS/Imatinib nanoparticles displayed cytotoxic effect against MCF-7 breast cancer cells. Results of this study can provide new insights in the development of pH responsive targeted drug delivery systems to overcome the side effects of conventional chemotherapy.