Controlled Release of Curcumin via Folic Acid Conjugated Magnetic Drug Delivery System

In the paper, folic acid(FA)-mediated and β-cyclodextrin(β-CD) derivatives functionalized magnetic Fe3O4 nanoparticles(MNPs) were successfully prepared as drug carriers for the targeted delivery and controlled release of water-insoluble anticancer drug. FA-sulfobutyl ether-β-CD-MNPs(FA-SBE-β-CD-MNPs), FA-hydroxypropyl-β-CD-MNPs(FA-HP-β-CD-MNPs) and FA-carboxymethyl-β-CD-MNPs(FA-CM-β-CD-MNPs) were fabricated, and the loading efficiency and relative entrapment rate of curcumin are 12.04 mg/g, 95.56% for FA-SBE-β-CD-MNPs, 9.6 mg/g, 81.63% for FA-HP-β-CD-MNPs and 7.88 mg/g, 85.28% for FA-CM-β-CD-MNPs, respectively. Meanwhile, at pH=5.0, the optimal release rate of curcumin is about 46.07% for FA-SBE-β-CD-MNPs in 5 h. Cellular uptake indicates that curcumin can be selectively transported to targeting site and released from the internalized carriers. The in vitro cytotoxicity reveals that non-toxic FA-SBE-β-CD-MNPs have excellent biocompatibility on HepG2 cells in the tested concentrations. Therefore, FA-SBE-β-CD-MNPs could provide a promising platform for the targeting delivery of water insoluble anti-cancer drugs for different treatment needs of cancer therapy.