Bisphosphonate release profiles from magnetite microspheres

Hyperthermia has been suggested as a novel, minimally invasive cancer treatment method. After implantation of magnetic nano- or microparticles around a tumour through blood vessels, irradiation with alternating magnetic fields facilitates the efficient in situ hyperthermia even for deep-seated tumours. On the basis of this idea, if the microspheres are capable of delivering drugs, they could be promising multifunctional biomaterials effective for chemotherapy as well as hyperthermia. In the present study, magnetite microspheres were prepared by aggregation of the iron oxide colloid in water-in-oil (W/O) emulsion. The release behaviour of alendronate, a typical bisphosphonate, from the microspheres was examined in vitro as a model of the bone tumour prevention and treatment system. The alendronate was successfully incorporated onto the porous magnetite microspheres in vacuum conditions. The drug-loaded microspheres maintained their original spherical shapes even after shaking in ultrapure water for 3 days, suggesting that they have sufficient mechanical integrity for clinical use. It was attributed to high aggregation capability of the magnetite nanoparticles through van der Waals and weak magnetic attractions. The microspheres showed slow release of the alendronate in vitro, resulting from tight covalent or ionic interaction between the magnetite and the alendronate. The release rate was diffusion-controlled type and well controlled by the alendronate concentration in drug incorporation to the microspheres.