Dual-pH/Magnetic-Field-Controlled Drug Delivery Systems Based on Fe3O4@SiO2-Incorporated Salecan Graft Copolymer Composite Hydrogels

Graphical The power of attraction : Salecan-based composite hydrogels have magnetic-field-responsive properties due to the introduction of Fe 3 O 4 @SiO 2 nanoparticles into the hydrogel system. As a model anticancer drug, doxorubicin (DOX) was loaded into the composite hydrogels with high efficiency via strong electrostatic interactions between the amine group in DOX and carboxyl groups present in the hydrogels. These DOX-loaded salecan-g-PPH/Fe 3 O 4 @SiO 2 composite hydrogels show pH-responsive controlled drug release, and the liberated DOX can be effectively taken up by A549 cells. Salecan is a water-soluble extracellular β-glucan and has excellent physicochemical and biological properties for hydrogel preparation. In this study, a new pH/magnetic field dual-responsive hydrogel was prepared by the graft copolymerization of salecan with 4-pentenoic acid (PA) and N -hydroxyethylacrylamide (HEAA) in the presence of Fe 3 O 4 @SiO 2 nanoparticles for doxorubicin hydrochloride (DOX) release. Integration of Fe 3 O 4 @SiO 2 nanoparticles in salecan-g-poly(PA-co-HEAA) copolymers afforded magnetic sensitivity to the original material. DOX-loaded hydrogels exhibited a clear capacity for pH/magnetic field dual-responsive controlled drug release. Lowering the pH to acidic conditions or introducing an external magnetic field caused an enhancement in DOX release. This salecan-g-poly(PA-co-HEAA)/Fe 3 O 4 @SiO 2 composite hydrogel is a promising drug carrier for magnetically targeted drug delivery with enhanced DOX cytotoxicity against A549 cells.