Magnetic xanthan gum-silk fibroin hydrogel: A nanocomposite for biological and hyperthermia applications

Int J Biol Macromol. 2023 Dec 31;253(Pt 4):127005. doi: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2023.127005. Epub 2023 Sep 19.

Abstract

A magnetic xanthan hydrogel/silk fibroin nanobiocomposite (XG hydrogel/SF/Fe3O4) was designed, fabricated, and characterized using analyzing methods such as FT-IR, EDX, FE-SEM, XRD, TGA, and VSM to evaluate the exact structure of product nanobiocomposite. The FE-SEM images reveal the presence of spherical shapes exhibiting a narrow size range and homogeneous distribution, measuring between 30 and 35 nm in diameter. The VSM analysis demonstrates the superparamagnetic properties of the XG hydrogel/SF/Fe3O4 nanobiocomposite, exhibiting a magnetic saturation of 54 emu/g at room temperature. The biological response of the nanobiocomposite scaffolds was assessed through cell viability and red blood cell hemolytic assays. MCF10A cells were exposed to a concentration of 1.75 mg/mL of the nanobiocomposite, and after 2 and 3 days, the cell viability was found to be 96.95 % and 97.02 %, respectively. The hemolytic effect was nearly 0 % even at higher concentrations (2 mg/mL). Furthermore, the magnetic nanobiocomposite showed excellent potential for hyperthermia applications, with a maximum specific absorption rate of 7 W/g for 1 mg/mL of the sample under a magnetic field in different frequencies (100, 200, 300, and 400 MHz) and 5 to 20 min time intervals.

Keywords: Biological activity; Hyperthermia; Magnetic nanocomposite; Silk fibroin; Xanthan hydrogel.

MeSH terms

  • Fibroins* / chemistry
  • Fibroins* / pharmacology
  • Hydrogels / chemistry
  • Hydrogels / pharmacology
  • Hyperthermia, Induced*
  • Magnetic Phenomena
  • Nanocomposites* / chemistry
  • Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared

Substances

  • Hydrogels
  • Fibroins
  • xanthan gum