Sonochemical fabrication of reduction-responsive magnetic starch-based microcapsules

Abstract

In this work, a novel, biocompatible, non-immunogenic and reductive-responsive magnetic starch-based microcapsules (RMSMCs) were designed and fabricated successfully via a facile sonochemical method for targeted delivery and triggered release of hydrophobic drugs. TEM image indicated that oleic acid (OA) modified Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles (OA-Fe₃O₄ NPs) were encapsulated into RMSMCs. The obtained RMSMCs were endowed with magnetism for drug targeted delivery because that the superparamagnetic OA-Fe₃O₄ NPs were encapsulated into RMSMCs. Moreover, Coumarin 6 (C6), a green fluorescent dye, was used as a model hydrophobic drug and loaded into RMSMCs. As drug carriers, the obtained spherical RMSMCs with the average size of 2 μm presented excellent reductive-responsive release ability for hydrophobic drugs. Accordingly, the obtained RMSMCs would be promising carriers for targeted delivery and triggered release of hydrophobic drugs in biomedical applications.

Keywords: Drug delivery; Magnetic; Microcapsules; Reductive-responsive; Sonochemical.