# Oleic Acid-Coated Zinc Ferrite Nanocubes: A Promising Nanocarrier for Neuroblastoma Therapy

## TL;DR

Researchers developed pH-sensitive nanocarriers that efficiently deliver doxorubicin to neuroblastoma cells with minimal toxicity to normal cells.

## Contribution

The study introduces a novel pH-responsive zinc ferrite nanocarrier with high drug-loading efficiency and targeted cancer cell delivery.

## Key findings

- OA@ZnFe2O4 NPs showed pH-dependent drug release, with highest release at pH 4.5.
- DOX@OA@ZnFe2O4 NPs were efficiently taken up by SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cells.
- The nanocarriers were nontoxic to normal fibroblasts but showed strong anticancer activity.

## Abstract

This
study focuses on the synthesis of OA@ZnFe2O4 NPs and the investigation of their structural, magnetic,
and biological characteristics as well as their pH-responsive drug
release behavior for potential biomedical use. The particles with
an average particle size of ∼23 nm exhibited a single-phase
spinel structure and superparamagnetic behavior. DOX was successfully
loaded onto the NPs with a remarkably high efficiency (∼99%).
In vitro release studies demonstrated that the OA@ZnFe2O4 NPs exhibited a pH-dependent release behavior in phosphate-buffered
saline and citrate buffers. The release rate was highest at pH 4.5,
followed by pH 6.5 and then pH 7.4 in both buffer media. The OA@ZnFe2O4 NPs (0.5 mg/mL) in citrate buffer at pH 4.5
demonstrated a markedly higher release efficiency, reaching approximately
77% cumulative release over ∼5 days. Cell imaging demonstrated
efficient uptake of the DOX@OA@ZnFe2O4 NPs in
SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cells. Biocompatibility assays showed that the
OA@ZnFe2O4 NPs were nontoxic to normal 3T3 fibroblasts,
while the DOX@OA@ZnFe2O4 NPs exhibited strong
anticancer activity comparable to free DOX. These findings support
the potential of the OA@ZnFe2O4 NPs as a pH-sensitive
nanocarrier for targeted neuroblastoma therapy with reduced systemic
side effects.