A novel curcumin-loaded PLGA micromagnetic composite system for controlled and pH-responsive drug delivery

Abstract Poly( d , l -lactide-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) based magnetic microspheres (MMS) hold immense potential for reaching the target of controlled and specific drug delivery site with low toxicity. Herein, we have synthesized the biodegradable PLGA microspheres (MS) containing magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (MIONPs) by the emulsion solvent evaporation method and loaded (them) with the well-known anti-cancer drug, curcumin. The existing crystallinity of MIONPs in the MMS has been confirmed by powder XRD analysis. The prepared MMS displayed excellent superparamagnetism displaying a saturated magnetism with a value being 24.4 emu/g. The morphology of MS and MMS was found to have spherical shape along with a smooth surface of mean diameter of 0.5 μm and 1 μm (micrometer range). Moreover, the MIONPs content of 23.74 wt% in the MMS was evaluated referring TGA studies. However, the drug release profiles resulted that the MMS have a pH-induced drug-releasing asset with a cumulative CUR releasing efficiency of 73.25%. According to the results obtained from the cytotoxic studies, MMS has cytotoxicity against HeLa cell lines with a significant potency that is promising for targeted chemotherapeutic applications.