Magnetic molecularly imprinted polymers (MMIPs) for carbazole derivative release in targeted cancer therapy

The synthesis of an innovative delivery system for targeted cancer therapy which combines the drug controlled release ability of Molecularly Imprinted Polymers (MIPs) with magnetic properties of magnetite is described herein. In the present study, an easy and smart synthetic strategy, involving new engineered precipitation photo-polymerization, was developed with the aim to obtain Magnetic Molecularly Imprinted Polymers (MMIPs) for 9H-carbazole derivative sustained delivery in cancer treatment. Both in vitro drug release and cytotoxicity studies on different cancer cell lines, such as HeLa and MCF-7, were performed in order to evaluate the controlled release ability and the potential application as a drug carrier in targeted cancer therapy. The synthesized polymeric materials have shown not only good selective recognition and controlled release properties, but also high magnetic responding capacity. The performed cytotoxicity studies highlighted the high inhibitory activity against the tested cell lines due to a dramatic growth arrest, compared to controls, by triggering apoptosis. These results clearly indicate the potential application of synthesized MMIPs as a magnetic targeted drug delivery nanodevice.