Cobalt-nickel alloy nanoparticles surface-functionalized with cyclodextrin for delivering 5-fluorouracil

Magnetic alloys represent a unique class of nanomaterials, suitable for application in magnetic field-guided anticancer drug transport. Herein, we report nanoscale cobalt-nickel alloy nanoparticles surface modified with a biocompatible ss-cyclodextrin citrate. The reaction of cyclodextrin with citric acid forms the ss-cyclodextrin citrate. The citrate groups allow the functionalization of the nanoparticles by adsorbing getting adsorbed onto their surface. It keeps the cyclodextrin open for accommodating drug molecules. The surface-modified nanoparticles were characterized by XRD, TEM, EDX, XPS, and VSM. The cyclodextrin citrate-modified-Co-Ni nanoparticles were formed in spherical morphology and belong to the cubic crystalline system. The material showed a saturation magnetization of 92.53 emu g(-1), narrow hysteresis loops, and low coercivity values. The UV-vis-NIR spectrum of the material displayed a broad spectral band, extending up to the long NIR wavelength (1200 nm). We loaded the anticancer drug 5-fluorouracil in the nanocarrier with a calculated loading efficiency of about 90%. Further, the release rate of the drug from the nanocarrier was investigated. The release was sustained, occurring over many days. The in vitro anticancer activity of the empty- and the 5-fluorouracil-loaded nanoparticles was examined on breast carcinoma (MDA-MB-231) cell lines. The apoptosis of the cells induced by the cargo-carrying nano vehicle was followed using Annexin V FITC/PI staining. The cells were inhibited by the controlled release of 5-fluorouracil from the nanocarrier, showing the properties of a suitable chemotherapeutic carrier.