5-Fluorouracil encapsulated magnetic nanohydrogels for drug-delivery applications

For the first time, green-tea (GT)-based magnetic nanohydrogels were developed for drug-delivery purposes. The hydrogel matrices were fabricated via the in situ polymerization of acrylamide with GT molecules. Magnetic nanoparticles were synthesized by the reduction of the 1:2 molar ratio mixture of ferrous sulfate heptahydrate and ferric chloride hexahydrate with an ammonia solution. A chemotherapeutic drug, 5-fluorouracil, was chosen as a model drug, and its releasing profiles in the presence and absence of the external magnetic field were evaluated at a pH of 7.4. We observed that in the presence of the applied magnetic field, these magnetic nanohydrogels released 2.86% more drug than in the absence of a magnetic field. The magnetic nanohydrogels were characterized by X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, vibrating sample magnetometry, and transmission electron microscopy. (c) 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2016, 133, 43921.