Chitosan-Coated Iron Oxide Nanoparticles for Molecular Imaging and Drug Delivery

Abstract

Iron oxide nanoparticles (IONPs) are a new class of nanomaterials which have attracted extensive interest for application in in vivo magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) due to their intrinsic superparamagnetic and biodegradable properties. Performance of the IONPs is largely dependent upon the properties of their surface coatings, which serve to prevent nanoparticle agglomeration, reduce the risk of immunogenicity, and limit nonspecific cellular uptake. Among the coating materials studied to date, chitosan has drawn considerable attention. Commonly derived from crustacean shells, chitosan is a natural linear polysaccharide and has ample reactive functional groups that can serve as anchors for conjugation of therapeutics, targeting ligands, and imaging agents. Because of these unique attributes, chitosan-coated IONPs are becoming more desirable for cancer imaging and therapy applications. This chapter discusses the current advances and challenges in synthesis of chitosan-coated IONPs, and their subsequent surface modifications for applications in cancer diagnosis and therapy.

Chitosan (or alginate)-coated iron oxide nanoparticles: A comparative study

“…Ferrofluids are used in medical science, especially as contrast agents for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and in hyperthermia [8]. Among the embedding materials, hydrophilic polymers, such as dextran and its derivatives [9][10][11], polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) [12], polyethylene glycol [13][14][15][16][17], alginate (ALG) [18] and chitosan (CHI) [19][20][21], have been used to stabilize bare magnetic nanoparticles. The surfaces of the NPs can be coated with a polymer by adsorption or grafting.…”

Preparation of Chitosan-Fe3O4 Nanoparticles by In-situ Co-Precipitation Using Tripolyphosphate / Citrate as Crosslinker and Characterization Using XRD

“…Diantara beberapa metode pembuatan nanopartikel besi oksida, ko-presipitasi merupakan metode bottom up yang berpotensi karena dapat digunakan untuk menghasilkan nanopartikel dengan skala besar, murah, proses produksinya mudah, dan menghasilkan nanopartikel yang hidrofilik [3]. Fe3O4 merupakan besi oksida yang paling menjanjikan dan umum digunakan dalam aplikasi biomedis karena sifatnya yang biokompatibel [4], biodegradabel dan dapat dengan mudah dimodifikasi permukaannya [5]. Salah satu modifikasi permukaan Fe3O4 nanopartikel dapat dilakukan dengan melapisi (coating) nanopartikel tersebut dengan polimer.…”

“…Salah satu modifikasi permukaan Fe3O4 nanopartikel dapat dilakukan dengan melapisi (coating) nanopartikel tersebut dengan polimer. Beberapa polimer yang biasa digunakan untuk melapisi Fe3O4 nanopartikel yaitu polyethylene glycol (PEG), dextran, polyethyleneimine (PEI), phospholipid, dan kitosan [5]. Adanya polimer juga dapat mencegah oksidasi besi oksida.…”

“…Laju degradasi kitosan tergantung dari berat molekul dan derajat asetilasi dari kitosan [6]. Kitosan dapat diikatkan silang (crosslinked) secara kimia maupun secara fisika karena adanya gugus fungsi amino dan hidroksil pada strukturnya untuk pelepasan obat yang terkontrol [7], dan peningkatkan kestabilan kitosan [5]. Pengikatan silang secara kovalen (kimiawi) kurang disukai untuk aplikasi biomedis karena sifat toksisitas yang dimilki oleh reagennya.…”

Particle geometry, charge, and wettability

“…If injected intravenously, the first trouble for the nanovehicle will be the adsorption of specific plasma proteins (opsonins), which make the particles rapidly recognised (within minutes after injection) as targets by the macrophages of immune system [25][26][27][28]. Among the methods envisaged for delaying this attack and gaining time for the nanovehicles to reach their target is the coating of the particles with suitable polymers, particularly poly(ethyleneglycol) (PEG, see [27]), but also Dextran [29][30][31] or chitosan [32][33][34][35][36], among others. The hydrophilic characteristics of PEG help in impeding the injected NPs from being expelled from the bloodstream by the mononuclear phagocyte system (MPS).…”