Lewy bodies are considered as the main pathological characteristics of Parkinson's disease (PD). The major component of Lewy bodies is α-synuclein (α-syn). The use of gene therapy that targeting and effectively interfere with the expression of α-syn in neurons has received tremendous attention. In this study, we used magnetic Fe3O4 nanoparticles coated with oleic acid molecules as a nano-carrier. N-isopropylacrylamide derivative (NIPAm-AA) was photo-immobilized onto the oleic acid molecules, and shRNA (short hairpin RNA) was absorbed. The same method was used to absorb nerve growth factor (NGF) to NIPAm-AA to specifically promote neuronal uptake via NGF receptor-mediated endocytosis. Additionally, shRNA plasmid could be released into neurons because of the temperature and pH sensitivity of NIPAm-AA interference with α-syn synthesis. We investigated apoptosis in neurons with abrogated α-syn expression in vitro and in vivo. The results demonstrated that multifunctional superparamagnetic nanoparticles carrying shRNA for α-syn could provide effective repair in a PD model.

Nanomagnetic materials offer exciting avenues for advancing cancer therapies. Most researches have focused on efficient delivery of drugs in the body by incorporating various drug molecules onto the surface of nanomagnetic particles. The challenge is how to synthesize low toxic nanocarriers with multi-target drug loading. The cancer cell death mechanisms associated with those nanocarriers remain unclear either. Following the cell biology mechanisms, we develop a liquid photo-immobilization approach to attach doxorubicin, folic acid, tumor necrosis factor-α, and interferon-γ onto the oleic acid molecules coated Fe3O4 magnetic nanoparticles to prepare a kind of novel inner/outer controlled multi-target magnetic nanoparticle drug carrier. In this work, this approach is demonstrated by a variety of structural and biomedical characterizations, addressing the anti-cancer effects in vivo and in vitro on the HeLa, and it is highly efficient and powerful in treating cancer cells in a valuable programmed cell death mechanism for overcoming drug resistance.