Designing casein-coated iron oxide nanostructures (CCIONPs) as superparamagnetic core–shell carriers for magnetic drug targeting

Magnetic drug targeting is a drug delivery system applicable to cancer treatment. Coated magnetic particles, called carriers, are very useful for delivering chemotherapeutic drugs. In the present research, casein-coated iron oxide nanocarriers (CCIONPs) of core shell nanostructure have been described as being applicable to magnetic drug targeting. The structure, morphology, and composition of prepared magnetic nanoparticles were determined by analytical techniques like Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Electron diffraction (ED), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Zeta potential, Dynamic light scattering (DLS), Mossbauer and Raman spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Vibrating sample magnetometery (VSM)) and in vitro cytotoxicity analysis. Magnetization studies of CCIONPs conducted at room temperature using a vibrating sample magnetometer suggested their superparamagnetic nature as having a saturation magnetization (Ms) of 64 emu g(−1) at an applied magnetic field of 5 kOe. The size of the magnetic polymeric nanoparticles was found to lie in the range of 73.9 ±0.36 nm, and the particles exhibited superparamagnetic behavior. The prepared particles could be used as a drug carrier for controlled and targeted drug delivery.