Cytotoxicity and anticancer drug release behavior of Methionine - coated magnetite nanoparticles as carriers in vitro

An innovative and customized drug delivery system for in vitro cancer treatment has been developed successfully by a simple one-step method. A CoFe 2 O 4 @Methionine core-shell nanoparticle was prepared by the reflux assay, in which amino acid on the surface makes the ferrite biocompatible, enhances the chemical stability of the compound, and increases the drug loading capacity. The synthesized nanoparticles were evaluated using SEM, TEM, FTIR, and VSM, while XRD and TGA analysis verified the presence of a coating amino acid on the surface of CoFe2O4. The appearance of a new peak for C≡N in the FTIR spectrum validates the synthesis of a letrozole-loaded carrier. Both uncoated CoFe2O4 and methionine-coated CoFe2O4 nanoparticles behave super-paramagnetically at room temperature, with saturation values of 46 emu/g and 16.8 emu/g, respectively. SEM and TEM were used to characterize the morphology and size of samples, revealing that the average particle size was around 28–29 nm. The loading of Letrozole and the effect of pH (5, 7.4) on the release behavior of the carrier were studied. The result of the drug release in pH (5) was about 88% higher than pH (7.4). Also, the preparation has been evaluated for determining its cytotoxicity using MCF-7, MDA-MB-231, and MCF10A cell lines as an in vitro model, and the results of in vitro experiments showed that CoFe 2 O 4 @Methionine could significantly reduce cancer in the cell model. These results demonstrate that core-shell nanoparticles were prepared that are biocompatible and have potential use as drug delivery.