Abstract:
This study aimed to develop a drug carrier system consisting of a polymer containing hydroxyapatite
(HAp) shell and a magnetic core of iron oxide nanoparticles. Doxorubicin and/or curcumin were
loaded into the carrier via a simple diffusion deposition approach, with encapsulation efficiencies
(EE) for curcumin and doxorubicin of 93.03 ± 0.3% and 97.37 ± 0.12% respectively. The co-loading
of curcumin and doxorubicin led to a total EE of 76.02 ± 0.48%. Release studies were carried out at
pH 7.4 and 5.3, and revealed higher release was at pH 5.3 expressing the potential application in
tumor microenvironments. Cytotoxicity assays, fluorescence imaging and flow cytometry showed
the formulations could effectively inhibit the growth of MCF-7 and HEpG2 cancer cells, being more
potent than the free drug molecules both in dose and time dependent manner. Additionally,
hemolysis tests and cytotoxicity evaluations determined the drug-loaded carriers to be non-toxic
towards non-cancerous cells. These formulations thus have great potential in the development of new
cancer therapeutics.
