Synthesis, Characterization and Potential Applications of Multifunctional PEO-PPOPEO- Magnetic Drug Delivery System

K.      Dehvari; K.-S.      Lin

Abstract

Magnetic nanocomposites (MNCs) have highly been acknowledged in the diagnostics and therapeutic applications. Particularly, the multifunctional MNCs have brought a variety of possibilities in targeted drug delivery as well as non-invasive multimodality imaging. A temperature-responsive magnetic drug delivery system has been developed which is made up of superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SIONPs) core and Pluronic shell. The magnetic cores composed of congo red conjugated to SIONPs have been proved beneficial as multimodal imaging agents, while superparamagnetic properties facile conducting the nano or micro systems to the vicinity of targeted tissue. Polymer shell formed by stimuli-responsive Pluronic F127 poly(ethylene oxide)-poly(propylene oxide)-poly(ethylene oxide) PEO-PPO-PEO block copolymer serves as the carrier for both hydrophilic and hydrophobic drugs. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and high-resolution transmission electron microscope (HR-TEM) were used to characterize as-synthesized MNCs. Furthermore, vibrating magnetometer experiments showed MNCs having a higher magnetization value than bare magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) and easy to conduct with an external magnetic field. The hydrodynamic size of MNCs was found to be varying in response to the stimuli temperature. Once the temperature increased, the hydrodynamic radius of MNCs decreased. In addition, the feasibility of the system as a targeted drug delivery system for Alzheimer’s diseases (AD) diagnosis and therapy was studied. Searching for reliable targeting molecule, recent approaches for identification of amyloid-β (Aβ) and its derivatives have been evaluated. Consequently, the amyloid-derived diffusible ligands antibodies (anti-ADDLs) have been nominated as potential targeting molecules which can be attached to the MNCs system. The possibility of anti-ADDLs conjugation to DDS has been found promising for the multifunctional drug delivery system for AD diagnosis and therapy. However, further experimental studies are required to assess the performance of the proposed DDS.

Keywords: Magnetic nanocomposites, PEO-PPO-PEO copolymer, drug delivery system, Alzheimer’s disease, amyloid-beta, multifunctional nanoparticles, in vivo imaging, diagnostics, therapeutic applications