An iron silicate based pH-sensitive drug delivery system utilizing coordination bonding

Abstract

Herein we report a drug delivery system based on hollow iron silicate nanospheres. Fe³⁺ on the nanospheres’ surface can effectively bind with doxorubicin (DOX), an anticancer drug, through coordination bonds. The bonds are fairly stable in a neutral environment but could easily break up in an acid environment. The release of DOX from hollow iron silicate nanospheres into cancer cells can be therefore triggered by a pH drop caused by endocytosis. The iron silicate shell allows a DOX loading content of up to 50.2% in weight, which is significantly higher than most drug delivery systems reported. Cell experiments show that DOX-loaded hollow iron silicate nanospheres exhibit a higher efficiency in killing cancer cells than free DOX, and a higher cytotoxicity for human hepatoma cells than hepatocyte cells at the same DOX-loaded nanospheres’ concentration. Confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) experiments show the releasing and transportation process of DOX, and confirm the enrichment of DOX in cell nuclei.