Magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles for drug delivery: applications and characteristics

ABSTRACT

Introduction: For many years, the controlled delivery of therapeutic compounds has been a matter of great interest in the field of nanomedicine. Among the wide amount of drug nanocarriers, magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (IONs) stand out from the crowd and constitute robust nanoplatforms since they can achieve high drug loading as well as targeting abilities stemming from their remarkable properties (magnetic and biological properties). These applications require precise design of the nanoparticles regarding several parameters which must be considered together in order to attain highest therapeutic efficacy.

Areas covered: This short review presents recent developments in the field of cancer targeted drug delivery using magnetic nanocarriers as drug delivery systems.

Expert opinion: The design of nanocarriers enabling efficient delivery of therapeutic compounds toward targeted locations is one of the major area of research in the targeted drug delivery field. By precisely shaping the structural properties of the iron oxide nanoparticles, drugs loaded onto the nanoparticles can be efficiently guided and selectively delivered toward targeted locations. With these goals in mind, special attention should be given to the pharmacokinetics and in vivo behavior of the developed nanocarriers.

KEYWORDS:

• Magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles
• targeted drug delivery
• stimuli-responsive delivery
• magnetically guided delivery
• theranostics

Article highlights

• IONs find applications in the biomedical field thanks to their magnetic and biocompatible properties making them powerful as, for example, contrast agents in MRI and drug delivery systems.

• Particle size and coating are two crucial parameters strongly impacting the behavior of the nanosystems in terms of therapeutic and/or diagnosis efficacy.

• Due to their strong magnetic properties, iron oxide nanoparticles can be guided by an external magnetic field toward targeted locations in vivo to enhance the delivery of therapeutic compounds in their site of action.

• Surface functionalization can be performed to render the drug release responsive to various stimulus such as temperature, redox state, or pH.

• Targeted drug delivery can also by attained by vectorizing the IONs with targeting agents able to specifically interact with disease markers.

This box summarizes key points contained in the article.

Declaration of interest

The authors have no relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. This includes employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending, or royalties.

Reviewer disclosures

Peer reviewers on this manuscript have no relevant financial or other relationships to disclose.

Additional information

Funding

This paper was not funded.