CHITOSAN/ZINC-IRON OXIDE NANOCOMPOSITE FOR CONTROLLED RELEASE OF ANTICANCER DRUG IMATINIB

Cancer drug carriers at the nanoparticle level have gained significant importance in recent years due to their ability to enhance the delivery of active substances to cancer tissues, thereby improving efficacy and reducing negative side effects associated with traditional chemotherapy. In this study, chitosan nanoparticles were synthesized and coated with zinc-iron oxide nanoparticles. This approach offers the advantage of targeted drug delivery to tumors. Imatinib, an anticancer drug, was loaded into both chitosan nanoparticles and chitosan/zinc-iron oxide nanoparticles. The addition of zinc-iron oxide nanoparticles significantly increased the encapsulation efficiency of the chitosan-based nanoparticles from 36% to 77.8%. The chitosan/zinc-iron oxide nanoparticle system was selected as the drug delivery system and characterized using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction techniques. In-vitro release studies demonstrated sustained release of imatinib. These findings suggest that the chitosan/zinc-iron oxide nanoparticles hold promise as an effective drug delivery system for cancer therapy.