Investigating the Structural and Magnetic Properties of Chitosan Coated CoFe2O4 Nanoparticles for Drug Delivery

Magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) are currently explored for use in biomedical applications, such as in MRI, hyperthermia and drug delivery. In this study, CoFe 2 O 4 and its calcium-substituted derivative viz. CS-Ca 0.5 Co 0.5 Fe 2 O 4 MNPs were synthesised via the glycol-thermal method. Furthermore, these MNPs were coated with chitosan (CS) to improve their biodegradability and biocompatibility. The anti-cancer drug, 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) was then loaded onto these MNPs to yield CS-Ca 0.5 Co 0.5 Fe 2 O 4 -5FU and CS-Ca 0.5 Co 0.5 Fe 2 O 4 -5FU. XRD results confirmed a single-phased cubic spinel structure for all MNPs. The naked MNPs displayed an average crystalline size of ~9.32 nm, which increased up to 18.20 nm upon coating. The VSM measurements recorded saturation magnetization values (Ms) of up to 73.951 emu/g. Upon polymer-coating, the shielding effect of chitosan resulted in reduced Ms of up to 17.220 emu/g in CS-Ca 0.5 Co 0.5 Fe 2 O 4 MNPs. Release profiles were determined at pH 4.5 and 7.4 over a period of 72 hours. A faster release of the drug was noted at the acidic pH with an accumulative release of 91.00% in CS-CoFe2O4-5FU. Coupled with a strong recommendation for in vitro studies, these MNPs present as attractive candidates to complement current anti-cancer treatments.