Synthesis of TiO2 nanoparticles using three different plant extracts results in different properties of the individual samples.

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Introduction Titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO 2 NPs) have shown tremendous potential in targeted drug-delivery applications. Among various mechanisms, magnetically guided transport of drugs is one such technique for the said purpose. TiO 2 NPs being diamagnetic or sometimes exhibiting very weak ferromagnetism can be modified by treating them with suitable magnetic materials. Methods Rutile TiO 2 NPs were synthesized and doped with Iron Supplement FericipXT and rare-earth metals like cerium, erbium and neodymium via sol–gel technique. FericipXT-coated rutile TiO 2 NPs were synthesized in three different core-shell ratios (1:3, 1:1 and 3:1). The resulting samples were characterized via X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Vibrating Sample Magnetometer (VSM) and High-Resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy (HR-TEM). Results XRD of FericipXT-doped TiO 2 NPs showed a rutile phase for 1% and 3% doping; however, only a small fraction of the maghemite phase was obtained for 5% doping. The XRD plots of Ce-doped, Er-doped and Nd-doped TiO 2 NPs showed a variety of phases of TiO 2 NPs (such as anatase/rutile/mixed) along with the oxide phases of the corresponding rare-earth metal. The presence of various iron titanium oxides and iron oxides was found in core-shell NPs. HR-TEM images confirmed the formation of 1:3, 1:1 and 3:1 core-shell TiO 2 NPs. VSM studies showed that the resulting NPs depicted magnetism in the form of superparamagnetism, ferromagnetism and even paramagnetism. Discussion The doping to 3% does not affect the original phase of the resulting TiO 2 NPs as depicted from the XRD; however, a doping of 5% and more resulted in extra phases corresponding to the dopant added. FericipXT was loaded over TiO 2 NPs in amorphous form. Among all the samples synthesized, FericipXT-coated TiO 2 NPs demonstrated the best magnetic ability. It was deduced that coating with a magnetic material drastically improves the magnetic character of the host NPs.

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Targeted drug delivery is one such precision method of delivering medication inside the human body which can vanquish all the limitations of the conventional chemotherapeutic techniques. In the present study, two types of nanoparticles (NPs) were chosen for the in-vitro pH-responsive release study of the drug, Imatinib, namely anatase Titanium Dioxide nanoparticles (TiO2 NPs) and iron-capped TiO2 NPs, designated as Fe@TiO2 NPs. The novelty of this work lies behind the use of commercially available iron supplement ‘Autrin’ meant for human consumption, as the material to coat the TiO2 NPs to synthesize Fe@TiO2 NPs. The synthesized NPs were analyzed by XRD, HR‐TEM, SAED, EDX and VSM. UV–Vis spectroscopy was performed for absorption studies. Fe@TiO2 NPs showed superparamagnetic behavior and thus they are able to ensure the facile transfer of Imatinib via external magnetic fields. The results obtained from in-vitro drug release studies depicted that both TiO2 NPs and Fe@TiO2 NPs showed a controlled pH-sensitive delivery of the loaded Imatinib molecules. Moreover, both types of NPs do not result in the formation of ROS under human physiological conditions. These results can lay the foundation to the development of efficacious targeted drug delivery systems in the healthcare sector.