| Two novel dual temperature/pH-sensitive superparamagnetic nanogels were developed with the aim of
simultaneously delivering two different anticancer drugs, doxorubicin (DOX) and methotrexate (MTX).
The studied copolymers were characterized by 1H NMR, SEM, and FTIR spectroscopy. Morphological
investigations showed that both blank and drug-loaded nanogels had uniform shapes with a mean
diameter of less than 30 nm. The drug storage/release behaviors were investigated. The nanogels showed
an encapsulation efficiency of about 95% for both drugs. The cumulative in vitro release of the DOX/MTX-
loaded nanogels exhibited an apparent thermo/pH-triggered controlled drug release in a sustained
manner that was able to distinguish between tumor tissues. The cytotoxicity assay of a blank carrier to
MCF7 and MDA-MB-231 cell lines indicated that the nanogels were suitable as drug carriers. Cell viability
experiments further confirmed that the co-administration of DOX with MTX had a superior cytotoxicity
to the mentioned cells compared with free dual drug- or single drug-loaded forms. Therefore, dual
anticancer drug-loaded thermo/pH-sensitive nanogels have the potential to be used for cancer therapy,
because they maintain a low premature drug release during blood circulation while having a rapid
release upon reaching tumorous tissue. |