Doxorubicin-loaded PEI-silica Nanoparticles for Cancer Therapy

Abstract

Targeted anticancer drug delivery systems are needed to enhance therapeutic efficacy by selectively delivering drugs to tumor cells while minimizing off-target effects, improving treatment outcomes and reducing toxicity. In this study, a silica-based nanocarrier capable of targeting drug delivery to cancer cells was developed. First, silica nanoparticles were synthesized by the Stöber method using the surfactant cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB). Increasing the ratio of EtOH in the solvent produced uniformly spherical silica nanoparticles. Washing the nanoparticles removed unreacted residues, resulting in a non-toxic carrier for drug delivery in cells. Upon surface modification, the pH-responsive polymer, polyethyleneimine (PEI) exhibited slow doxorubicin release at pH 7.4 and accelerated release at pH 5.5. By exploiting this feature, we developed a system capable of targeted drug release in the acidic tumor microenvironment.