The State of the Art of Natural Polymer Functionalized Fe3O4 Magnetic Nanoparticle Composites for Drug Delivery Applications: A Review

Abu Hassan Nordin; Zuliahani Ahmad; Siti Muhamad Nur Husna; Rushdan Ahmad Ilyas; Ahmad Khusairi Azemi; Noraznawati Ismail; Muhammad Luqman Nordin; Norzita Ngadi; Nordin Hawa Siti; Walid Nabgan; Abd Samad Norfarhana; Mohammad Saifulddin Mohd Azami

doi:10.3390/gels9020121

The State of the Art of Natural Polymer Functionalized Fe₃O₄ Magnetic Nanoparticle Composites for Drug Delivery Applications: A Review

Gels. 2023 Feb 1;9(2):121. doi: 10.3390/gels9020121.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Faculty of Chemical and Energy Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Skudai 81310, Johor, Malaysia.
² Faculty of Applied Sciences, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), Arau 02600, Perlis, Malaysia.
³ Centre for Advanced Composite Materials (CACM), Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), Skudai 81310, Johor, Malaysia.
⁴ Institute of Marine Biotechnology, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, Kuala Terengganu 21030, Terengganu, Malaysia.
⁵ Department of Clinical Studies, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Universiti Malaysia Kelantan, Pengkalan Chepa, Kota Bharu 16100, Kelantan, Malaysia.
⁶ Centre for Nanotechnology in Veterinary Medicine (NanoVet), Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Universiti Malaysia Kelantan, Pengkalan Chepa, Kota Bharu 16100, Kelantan, Malaysia.
⁷ Pharmacology Unit, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin, Kuala Terengganu 20400, Terengganu, Malaysia.
⁸ Departament d'Enginyeria Química, Universitat Rovira I Virgili, Av. Països Catalans 26, 43007 Tarragona, Spain.
⁹ Department of Petrochemical Engineering, Politeknik Tun Syed Nasir Syed Ismail, Pagoh Education Hub, Pagoh Muar 84600, Johor, Malaysia.

Abstract

Natural polymers have received a great deal of interest for their potential use in the encapsulation and transportation of pharmaceuticals and other bioactive compounds for disease treatment. In this perspective, the drug delivery systems (DDS) constructed by representative natural polymers from animals (gelatin and hyaluronic acid), plants (pectin and starch), and microbes (Xanthan gum and Dextran) are provided. In order to enhance the efficiency of polymers in DDS by delivering the medicine to the right location, reducing the medication's adverse effects on neighboring organs or tissues, and controlling the medication's release to stop the cycle of over- and under-dosing, the incorporation of Fe₃O₄ magnetic nanoparticles with the polymers has engaged the most consideration due to their rare characteristics, such as easy separation, superparamagnetism, and high surface area. This review is designed to report the recent progress of natural polymeric Fe₃O₄ magnetic nanoparticles in drug delivery applications, based on different polymers' origins.

Keywords: animal; composites; drug delivery; magnetic nanoparticles; microbe; natural polymer; plant.

Publication types

Review

Grants and funding

The authors would like to express gratitude for the financial support received from the Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, project “The impact of Malaysian bamboos’ chemical and fiber characteristics on their pulp and paper properties, grant number PY/2022/02318-Q.J130000.3851.21H99”. The research has been conducted under the program Research Excellence Consortium (JPT(BPKI)1000/016/018/25(57)) provided by the Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia (MOHE).