Synthesis and characterization of noscapine loaded magnetic polymeric nanoparticles

The delivery of noscapine therapies directly to the site of the tumor would ultimately allow higher concentrations of the drug to be delivered, and prolong circulation time in vivo to enhance the therapeutic outcome of this drug. Therefore, we sought to design magnetic based polymeric nanoparticles for the site directed delivery of noscapine to invasive tumors. We synthesized Fe3O4 nanoparticles with an average size of 10 +/- 2.5 nm. These Fe3O4 NPs were used to prepare noscapine loaded magnetic polymeric nanoparticles (NMNP) with an average size of 252 +/- 6.3 nm. Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy showed the encapsulation of noscapine on the surface of the polymer matrix. The encapsulation of the Fe3O4 NPs on the surface of the polymer was confirmed by elemental analysis. We studied the drug loading efficiency of polylactide acid (PLLA) and poly(l-lactide acid-co-gylocolide) (PLGA) polymeric systems of various molecular weights. Our findings revealed that the molecular weight of the polymer plays a crucial role in the capacity of the drug loading on the polymer surface. Using a constant amount of polymer and Fe3O4 NPs, both PLLA and PLGA at lower molecule weights showed higher loading efficiencies for the drug on their surfaces. (C) 2009 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved.