Carboxymethyl cellulose-functionalised magnetic nanocarriers for pH responsive delivery of Curcumin in cancer therapy

The surface functionalisation of magnetic nanomaterials was shown to be crucial for the development of ideal drug delivery systems. In this study, carboxymethyl cellulose(CMC) stabilised magnetic nanoparticles were prepared for the delivery of the anticancer hydrophobic drug, Curcumin(Cur). The water soluble, superparamagnetic MnFe2O4 nanoparticles (35-40 nm), synthesised by coprecipitation method was then surface coated with biocompatible polymer, CMC and the polymer matrix was cross-linked using glutaraldehyde, prior to the drug loading. The phase morphology, surface functionalisation, magnetic behaviour and weight loss were characterised by x-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, Vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) and Thermogravimetric analysis(TGA) respectively. The SEM images and XRD patterns demonstrated that the synthesised magnetic nanoparticles were of single phase and spherical in shape. The bare and CMC modified MnFe2O4 nanoparticles exhibited superparamagnetic behaviour, with a saturation magnetisation of 41.24 emu g(-1) and 36.05 emu g(-1) respectively, which was confirmed by VSM. The release characteristics of Cur loaded MnFe2O4 -CMC nanocarriers demonstrated that the drug release was pH sensitive and relatively higher drug release was observed at endosomal acidic pH 5.5 than that in normal physiological pH7.4. Thus, the as-prepared nanoformulation showed promising potential as drug carriers to enhance the therapeutic efficacy in MCF7 and HeLa cell lines.