Amorphous calcium silicate hydrate/block copolymer hybrid nanoparticles: synthesis and application as drug carriers

Abstract

Amorphous calcium silicate hydrate (CSH)/block copolymer monomethoxy(polyethyleneglycol)-block-poly(lactide-co-glycolide) (mPEG-PLGA) (CSHP) hybrid nanoparticles have been prepared in aqueous solution via a facile coprecipitation route at room temperature. The block copolymer mPEG-PLGA micelles in aqueous solution serve as the templates, and the CSH links to the micelles by hydrogen bonding between the silanol groups and the hydrophilic mPEG segments. The obtained core/shell hybrid nanoparticles can be transformed to solid hybrid nanoparticles by washing with water. The drug ibuprofen (IBU) loading capacity of the CSHP hybrid nanoparticles is ultrahigh (∼1.9 g drug per g carrier), and the IBU loading efficiency can reach as high as ∼100%. The drug release of loaded IBU in the CSHP hybrid nanoparticles has been investigated in simulated body fluid (SBF). The loaded IBU drug in CSHP hybrid nanoparticles can release in SBF for a long period of time (about 300 h), during which the CSHP nanocarrier is completely transformed to hydroxyapatite, exhibiting a good bioactivity. The IBU drug release profile can be interpreted by the Higuchi model. The loading capacity for the anticancer drug docetaxel (DTX) in the CSHP hybrid nanoparticles is about 82 mg g⁻¹. More importantly, the release of the loaded DTX in phosphate buffer saline (PBS) at pH 5.5 is obviously faster than that at pH 7.4, which is promising for the application in cancer therapy. Human gastric carcinoma (SGC-7901) cells can be effectively killed in the presence of the DTX-loaded CSHP hybrid nanoparticles at appropriate concentrations. Thus, the CSHP hybrid nanoparticles are promising nanocarriers in drug delivery. Furthermore, the hemoglobin (Hb) loading capacity of CSHP hybrid nanoparticles can achieve an utrahigh value of 995 mg g⁻¹, suggesting that the as-prepared CSHP hybrid nanoparticles are excellent protein adsorbents.