Synthesis, characterization and application of polyglycerol coated Fe3O4 nanoparticles as a nano-theranostics agent

Superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs) with an average size of 10 nm have been successfully synthesized by the polyol method. Then, hyperbranched polyglycerol (HPG) branches have been introduced on the surface of SPIONs through ring opening polymerization of glycidol as a biocompatible surface modifier with a more hydrophilic nature than other biomedical polymers. The as-synthesized SPION-HPGs were analyzed by FT-IR, CHNS and TGA analysis which all exhibited the successful HPG grafting onto the SPION surface. The anticancer herbal drug, curcumin, was loaded on the resultant nanocarrier. The MTT assay demonstrated the non-cytotoxicity effect of SPION-HPGs and the low cytotoxicity effect of curcumin at low concentrations on L929 and MCF-7 cell lines as normal and cancerous cells, respectively. Moreover, these nanoparticles exhibited an improved effect as a contrast agent in magnetic resonance imaging. Thus, it is concluded that SPION HPG has the potential to be used in theranostics applications due to its simultaneous drug delivery and imaging capabilities.