Tailored crystallization of CaCO₃ vaterite particles using ethylene glycol and carbohydrate-based biopolymers:...

This study reports the tailored synthesis of functional submicron vaterite particles using ethylene glycol and natural carbohydrate-containing biopolymers, including polysaccharides (pectin, fucoidan) and glycoprotein (mucin) as crystallization modifiers. The resulting hybrid particles exhibited a narrow size distribution (~600-900 nm), high specific surface area (up to ~50 m²g^-1), and enhanced stability. Biopolymer incorporation enabled efficient doxorubicin (DOX) loading (up to ~23.5 mg g^-1) and allowed tunable drug release kinetics depending on the loading method. Crucially, the identity of the polysaccharide strongly influenced cell-particle interactions, leading to distinct cytotoxic profiles: mucin- and fucoidan-modified particles showed the highest DOX-mediated cytotoxicity in HepG2 2D and 3D models. This work demonstrates the rational design of biopolymer-vaterite hybrids as a tunable drug delivery platform, in which both the particle physicochemical properties and biointerface-mediated cellular interactions can be engineered.