Kinetic study of Drug Release of Doxorubicin-Poly Cystine Methacrylate Nanoparticles in acidic and normal environments

Recently, a novel polymer nanoparticle was developed, composed of Poly Cysteine Methacrylate Nanoparticles (PCMANPs) [ ]. This study assesses the efficiency of the nanoparticle system as a controlled-release platform for delivering a small hydrophobic drug. Doxorubicin was successfully loaded into the nanoparticle, resulting in the formation of Doxo-PCMANPs. The morphology and architecture of the nanocarriers were analyzed using FESEM technique. Both the drug-loading capacity and therapeutic performance of the nanomedicine were analyzed. In vitro drug release studies were conducted under two different pH conditions, acidic (pH 6.5) and physiological (pH 7.4), using spectrophotometric methods to track the release profile. A higher drug release was observed in the acidic environment (83.1448%) compared to the normal physiological condition (68.1696%). To further understand the release profile, kinetic modeling was studied using four common models: first-order, zero-order, Higuchi, and Korsmeyer’s Peppas models. The release data at pH 7.4 fitted best with the Korsmeyer-Peppas model, while the Higuchi model provided a better fit under acidic conditions. Additionally, it was observed that the drug delivery mechanism from the nanoparticle system adheres to Fick's law of diffusion. This contributes to reducing toxicity and improving the therapeutic efficacy of a drug and demonstrates the high efficacy of Doxo-PCMANPs in chemotherapy.