Synthesis and Characterization of Targeted Magnetic Bentonite Nanohybrid for Enhanced Drug Delivery: A Promising Approach for Cancer Therapy

The use of smart materials to deliver anticancer drugs to tumors has been considerably increased in cancer therapy. In this work, a novel pH-responsive system for drug delivery is proposed that employs magnetite nanoparticles and bentonite loaded with doxorubicin (DOX), a known anticancer drug, to investigate its loading capacity and release. This magnetic bentonite nanohybrid is first synthesized using a single-step method. The structural and spectral properties of the nano-assemblies are analyzed employing a variety of analytical methods including Fourier Transform InfraRed (FT-IR) spectroscopy, Scanning and Transmission Electron Microscopy (SEM and TEM, respectively), X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), and Vibrating Sample Magnetometer (VSM). The drug-loading capacity, entrapment, and yield are compared with different ratios of 1:1, 1:2, and 1:4 of the drug: nanohybrid to choose the best ratio. Moreover, a pH-sensitive release is measured at pH 7.4 and 5.5 with a total release of 57% and 80% after 72 h, respectively. Considering all these findings, the magnetic bentonite shows significant promise as a potential candidate for drug delivery applications targeting cancer cells.