Synthesis, characterization and hyperthermia studies of thermosensitive hydrogels associated with magnetic nanoemulsions

Abstract

Targeted drug delivery is of great importance in cancer treatment and has become the interest of many scientists worldwide. Targeted drug delivery renders local treatment of cancerous cells possible without affecting healthy cells. Hydrogels are promising materials to be used in targeted drug delivery systems due to their biocompatible nature and injectable behavior whereby they can be used to load drugs. However, considering that not all the drugs are water soluble, entrapment of some drugs in hydrogels is not practical in terms of poor drug solubility and burst drug release. An oil phase can be considered as a drug-carrying agent, and entrapment of this oil phase into the hydrogel would make it possible for the in-situ injection of a dissolved drug into the oil phase. Moreover, incorporation of hydrogels with magnetic nanoparticles can create a double effect, making hyperthermia treatment possible and also controlling the flow of magnetic nanoparticles out of the concerned region using a hydrogel matrix. In this study, oil-in-water (O/W)-type nanoemulsions were prepared using a combination of black seed oil (which is known to cause apoptosis via a p-53 dependent mechanism), water, and Triton X-100 and Span-80 surfactants. Three different oil percentages and three different surfactant percentages were tested, and the stability behavior of these nanoemulsions were investigated and compared. Dynamic light scattering analysis and zeta potential measurements were conducted for determining particles sizes and surface charges of the nanoemulsions. The most stable nanoemulsion with the smallest diameter and lowest polydispersity index (PDI) was used in the synthesis of nanoparticle-added magnetic nanoemulsion hydrogels (MNHs) for the hyperthermia study. Results have indicated that time, concentration, and magnetic field strength (MFS) can significantly affect the heating ability of the samples, which can be promising candidates for further hyperthermia studies