Albumin-based nanocomposite spheres for advanced drug delivery systems

Abstract

A novel drug delivery system incorporating human serum albumin, poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid, magnetite nanoparticles, and therapeutic agent(s) was developed for potential application in the treatment of diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and skin cancer. An oil-in-oil emulsion/solvent evaporation (O/OSE) method was modified to produce a drug delivery system with a diameter of 0.5-2 mu m. The diameter was mainly controlled by adjusting the viscosity of albumin in the discontinuous phase of the O/OSE method. The drug-release study showed that the release of drug and albumin was mostly dependent on the albumin content of the drug delivery system, which is very similar to the drug occlusion-mesopore model. Cytotoxicity tests indicated that increasing the albumin content in the drug delivery system increased cell viability, possibly due to the improved biocompatibility of the system. Overall, these studies show that the proposed system could be a viable option as a drug delivery system in the treatment of many illnesses, such as rheumatoid arthritis, and skin and breast cancers.