Immobilization of Doxorubicin on Surfaces of Plasma Synthesized C/Fe and C/Fe/N Magnetic Nanoparticles for Targeted Drug Delivery

摘要

Using dense medium plasma technology, carbon-based magnetic nanoparticles (CMNP) were synthesized from benzene or acetonitrile at room temperature and atmospheric pressure. Scanning electron microscopy shows that the nanoparticles are spherical and 40-50 nm in diameter. Results from Xray photoelectron spectroscopy and other analytical techniques demonstrated that the CMNP's consist of iron/iron oxide particles that are evenly dispersed in a carbon-based host-structure. Importantly, the C/Fe/N nanoparticles synthesized from acetonitrile can be easily dispersed in water and stay suspended for several days without apparent agglomeration. Following the synthesis, CMNP samples were treated by argon-plasma, aminated with ethylene diamine, and subsequently activated by generating aldehyde groups on the surface. Free doxorubicin (DOX) molecules were then immobilized onto the activated CMNP surfaces to form CMNP-DOX conjugates. The corresponding loading efficiency was determined. The in vitro antiproliferative activity of immobilized doxorubicin was demonstrated in tumor cell cytotoxicity assays. It is suggested that this CMNP-DOX system can be used for targeted drug delivery applications.