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Facile preparation of a pH-sensitive nano-magnetic targeted system to deliver doxorubicin to tumor tissues

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Abstract

We have developed a drug-loaded, pH-sensitive, nano-magnetic targeted system (DPNTS) for delivering doxorubicin (DOX) to tumor tissues through a facile route. Iron oxide (Fe3O4) nanoparticles were used as magnetically-responsive carriers, polyethyleneglycol (PEG) as the surface-modifying agent, and polyethyleneimine (PEI) as the drug-loading site whose primary amine reacts with the 13-carbonyl of DOX. The prepared DPNTS was within 20 nm and had good stability in dispersion and superparamagnetic properties. DOX was grafted to PEG/PEI@Fe3O4 at up to 85 %. During in vitro release studies, nearly 81 % DOX was released from DPNTS within 72 h at pH 4.5, compared with only 28 % at pH 7.4.

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Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful for support from the National Science Foundation of China (Project No. 50602024, No.50972060), the Scientific and Technical Supporting Programs of Jiangsu province (BE2012758), the Scientific Research Fund from NJUST Research Funding (No.2010ZDJH06), and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (No.30920130112003).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Special Superfine Powder Engineering Research Center, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, Nanjing, 210094, China

    Juan Wu, Shanshan Xu, Wei Jiang, Yueqing Shen & Menglu Pu

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  1. Juan Wu
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  2. Shanshan Xu
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  3. Wei Jiang
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  4. Yueqing Shen
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  5. Menglu Pu
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Correspondence to Wei Jiang.

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Wu, J., Xu, S., Jiang, W. et al. Facile preparation of a pH-sensitive nano-magnetic targeted system to deliver doxorubicin to tumor tissues. Biotechnol Lett 37, 585–591 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10529-014-1708-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10529-014-1708-x

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