Magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles as drug delivery system in breast cancer

Abstract Present work was focused on producing improved iron oxide nanoparticles for targeted drug delivery in breast cancer. Nanometric-sized iron oxide particles were synthesized by laser pyrolysis and were morphologically/structurally characterized. These new nanoparticles were compared with some commercial, chemically prepared iron oxide ones. Cytotoxicity and the anti-proliferation effects of nanoparticles were tested in vitro on the breast adenocarcinoma cell line MCF-7. Nanoparticles were further coated with the antracyclinic antibiotic Violamycine B1 and tested for the anti-tumor effect on MCF-7 cells. The nanoparticles produced by us seem more effective in vitro than the commercial ones, with respect to cellular uptake and VB1 delivery. Violamycine B1 bound on nanoparticles is as efficient as the free form, but is better delivered into tumor cells.