Hybrid microparticles for drug delivery and magnetic resonance imaging

In this work, we report the synthesis, characterization, and possible application as drug-delivery system magnetically triggered, of hybrid microparticles formed by magnetic nanoparticles embedded within poly(ε-caprolactone). The magnetism of the microparticles permits their localization within the body using magnetic resonance imaging, and the biodegradable polymer layer allows entrapping drugs that can be released when temperature increases. The synthesis of the hybrid material was performed using "grafting from" technique of conveniently modified magnetic nanoparticles. Subsequently, the resulting hybrid nanoparticles were assembled into spherical particles of 138 ± 49 nm via precipitation technique. The produced hybrid material was evaluated as stimuli-responsive drug delivery system in which the release of the drug was triggered by magnetic induction. Furthermore, the microparticles were injected in rats and their localization within the animal was monitored using the local field inhomogeneities generated by the particles.