Integrating hyperthermia and chemotherapy: an intriguing approach based on Fe3O4 nanoparticles grafted with SN38 and MTX dual drugs for cancer theranostics

The exceptional magnetic properties of magnetite and Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles make them the most intensively reported inorganic nanomaterials in cancer research. Here, Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles were prepared by the chemical co-precipitation method and loaded with dual chemotherapeutic drugs, methotrexate (MTX) and SN38 (Fe₃O₄-SN38-MTX), to achieve tumor-targeting potency and elevate the dual therapeutic antitumor efficacy towards the breast cancer cells. The synthesized Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles exhibit excellent magnetic hyperthermic performance (MHT) because of their superparamagnetic behavior and attain saturation magnetization at 66.37 emu/g. Moreover, the double drug conjugation of Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles exhibits enhanced MHT efficiency due to its dual-chemotherapy performance. The successful preparation of Fe₃O₄-SN38-MTX nanoparticles was confirmed by XRD, FTIR, and UV-visible studies. Additionally, the magnetic property was investigated using SQUID, and their Fe₃O₄-SN38-MTX nanoparticles’ cytotoxic performance was evaluated by CCK-8 analysis of L929 and 4T1 cells. As a result, the prepared Fe₃O₄-SN38-MTX nanoparticles exhibit 64% tumor cell death via combinational therapy (MHT/CT) than single therapy.