Polymeric nanocarriers improve performance of anticancer drugs

Academic researchers in Iran used biodegradable polymers to produce drug nanocarriers able to carry and release a type of anticancer drug in cancerous cells.

The research was carried out to develop the applications of these types of drugs and produce and coat magnetic nanoparticles with biocompatible copolymers as an appropriate bed for doxorubicin anticancer drug.

According to the executor of the plan, the copolymer used in this research is biocompatible and non-toxic and can be degraded in the chemical atmosphere for the body. In addition, the loading of doxorubicin increases due to the ease of synthesis, the wide and controllable range of particle size, hydrophilicity and the ability to create physical and chemical bonds with the drug. These characteristics have resulted in an increase in the efficiency of the drug to the extent that significant increase is observed the release of this drug in cancerous cells in comparison with other reported products. This drug can be easily controlled due to its magnetic properties.

The mechanism of drug carrying nanosystems can be explained this way; nanoparticles can diffuse into the cell by passing through cellular blocks (such as membranes) due to their small size, and they increase the accumulation of the drug in the target tissue. This way, the toxicity of drugs decreases because only the target cells are affected. Therefore, no side effect is observed in other healthy tissues and the treatment period increases.

Results showed that due to their specific characteristics, including high LCST (low critical solution temperature), the copolymers are capable of loading and releasing the drugs in comparison with previous reported products such as poly (N-isopropylacrylamide). In addition, copolymers can be produced easily through this method and they do not require specific conditions. Moreover, they have acceptable compatibility with the environment and are degradable.

Results of the research have been published in Applied Surface Science, vol. 320, issue 1, 2014, pp. 301-308.