Novel magnetic carboxymethylcellulose/chitosan bio-nanocomposites for smart co-delivery of sunitinib malate anticancer compound and saffron extract

Pharmacological risk and economic inefficiency are some of the main shortcomings of the rapid release of drugs from nanocarriers. In the present study, relatively green, magnetic, smart dual-carrier vehicles based on pH-sensitive biopolymers, namely carboxymethylcellulose (CMC)/chitosan (CTS), have been developed to enable simultaneously controlled loading or releasing of sunitinib malate (STM) (anticancer) and saffron (SAF) bioactive compounds. Magnetic CMC (mCMC) was prepared by co-precipitation of Fe2+ and Fe3+ ions and complexation process via simple electrostatic interactions between mCMC and CTS. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, X-ray diffraction, vibrating sample magnetometry, transmission electron microscopy and scanning electron microscopy were used for characterization. The concentration of mCMC was found to be an important factor affecting the bio-nanocomposite performances. In vitro release study demonstrated higher release profiles at pH = 4.5 compared to pH = 7.4. Moreover, our data showed that the release percentage of bio-nanocomposites with a low concentration of mCMC was higher than that of bio-nanocomposites with a higher mCMC concentration. The kinetic release data were fitted using Higuchi and Korsmeyer-Peppas models. STM- and SAF-loaded mCMC/CTS demonstrated cytotoxic and antibacterial properties against MCF-7 breast cancer cells and S. aureus bacteria, indicated by MTT assay and disk diffusion method, respectively. (c) 2022 Society of Industrial Chemistry.

Automated summary

This study developed a magnetic dual-carrier nanocarrier based on pH-sensitive biopolymers, enabling controlled loading or releasing of anticancer drugs and bioactive compounds. The concentration of the magnetic biopolymer was found to be an important factor affecting the performance of the nanocomposites. In vitro release study showed higher release profiles at acidic pH. The STM- and SAF-loaded nanocomposites exhibited cytotoxic and antibacterial properties against breast cancer cells and bacteria, respectively.