Encapsulation of Doxorubicin and Chrysin on magnetic PCL-PEG-PCL nanoparticles: Optimization of parameters and drug delivery evaluation

Iron oxide nanoparticles are smart materials that have been commonly used in medicine for diagnostic imaging, drug delivery, and therapeutic applications. In this study, Iron oxide nanoparticles and Doxorubicin (DOX)- Chrysin (Chr), were absorbed into triblock copolymer (PCL-PEG-PCL) for narrow behavior. PCL-PEG triblock copolymers were synthesized by ring-opening polymerization of ε-caprolactone (ε-CL) with polyethylene glycol (EG) as an initiator. The bulk properties and chemical structure of these copolymers were characterized using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and 1H-NMR. In adding together, the consequential particles were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray powder diffraction, vibrating sample magnetometry, and zeta potential measurement. Response surface methodology (RSM) was employed to study the effects of the three most important parameters on encapsulation efficiency, namely DOX and Chr weight (2-18 mg), ε -CL weight (0.6-3.8 g), and sonication time (15-75s). The optimum encapsulation conditions were: 11.2 mg for DOX and Chr weight, 3.75 g for ε -CL, and 48.15 s for sonication time. The highest encapsulation efficiency in these conditions predicted by the equation is 95.68% and the release profile was controlled. There is potential for the application of Fe3O4- PCL-PEG4000 magnetic nanoparticles for biomedical purposes.