Prussian Blue Derived Nanoporous Iron Oxides as Anticancer Drug Carriers for Magnetic-Guided Chemotherapy

New nanoporous iron oxide nanoparticles with superparamagnetic behavior were successfully synthesized from Prussian blue (PB) nanocubes through a thermal conversion method and applied to the intracellular drug-delivery systems (DDS) of bladder cancer cells (i.e., T24) with controlled release and magnetic guiding properties. The results of the MTT assay and confocal laser scanning microscopy indicate that the synthesized iron oxide nanoparticles were successfully uptaken by T24 cells with excellent biocompatibility. An anticancer drug, that is, cisplatin, was used as a model drug, and its loading/release behavior was investigated. The intracellular drug delivery efficiency was greatly enhanced for the cisplatin-loaded, PB-derived, magnetic-guided drug-delivery system compared with the non-drug case. The synthesized nanomaterials show great potential as drug vehicles with high biocompatibility, controlled release, and magnetic targeting features for future intracellular DDS.