Aspartic acid functionalized magnetic nanoparticles for enhanced internalization in tumoral cell

The antitumoral activity, and in general, the biological activity is strongly altered by the low uptake of the active agents within the targeted cells. Therefore, lots of efforts have been made to ensure better cellular uptake by using specific carriers. In the present research we have obtained magnetic nanoparticles stabilized by polyethylene glycol (PEG) coating, and functionalized with aspartic acid, which is an important amino acid for protein synthesis and energy production in the body. Such decorated nanoparticles can be internalized by the tumoral cell due to their higher metabolic rate. The nanoparticles were used as a delivery system for antitumoral drugs as cisplatin, carboplatin or irinotecan in a Trojan Horse strategy. Based on the obtained results, it was found that aspartic acid can improve the internalization efficiency of the magnetic carriers after being loaded with antitumoral agents. The nanoparticles are quite stable, can reach and enter the mitochondria and organize around lipid vesicles in quite a high concentration, best results being obtained for the system loaded with cisplatin starting from 0.1 mg/mL.