Synthesis of a chitosan/g-C3N5/ferrite carrier and evaluation of its performance in the loading and controlled release of doxorubicin: Optimization of the process by RSM

Abstract

In this research, a compound of chitosan/N-rich graphite carbon nitride/calcium ferrite (CS/g-C3N5/CaFe2O4) was synthesized for the targeted delivery and controlled release of the anticancer drug doxorubicin (DOX). Optimization of the loading process through response surface methodology (RSM) revealed that over 76% of the DOX was successfully loaded onto the CS/g-C3N5/CaFe2O4 under optimal conditions (60-min contact time, carrier dose of 0.15 g, DOX concentration of 50 mg L-1, and pH of 7.5). Analysis of the RSM-optimized data using different kinetic and isothermal models demonstrated that the loading of DOX onto CS/g-C3N5/CaFe2O4 fits well with Ho’s pseudo-2nd-order kinetic model (k= 0.02 g mg-1 min-1) and the Temkin isotherm model (B1= 13.15 mg g-1, KT= 0.19 L g-1), indicating significant drug-carrier electrostatic interactions. This was inferred by comparing the FT-IR spectra of carrier before and after drug loading. The drug release study results showed the release of 100% of DOX under simulated cancerous cell conditions (pH 5.6) compared with 33% under physiological conditions (pH 7.4) over a period of 6 h. Pharmacokinetic studies indicated that the release data under pH 5.6 correlated best with the Hixson-Crowell model (k= 0.0041 h-0.33), suggesting that the drug release is associated with the carrier’s dissolution in mildly acidic conditions. Overall, the bionanomagnetic composite created from CS/g-C3N5/CaFe2O4 serves as a promising platform for drug delivery thanks to its notable features such as magnetic targeted delivery and pH-controlled release.