Doxorubicin-Conjugated Mesoporous Magnetic Colloidal Nanocrystal Clusters Stabilized by Polysaccharide as a Smart Anticancer Drug Vehicle

Dian Li, Jing Tang, Chuan Wei, Jia Guo, Shilong Wang, Deeptangshu Chaudhary, and Changchun Wang*

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/smll.201200272/full

Nanoparticles were synthesized by reduction of FeCl3 with ethylene glycol in the presence of agarose.  The surface of the particles was modified by treatment with acryloyl chloride/TEA, and then thiol-ene with a hydrazide thiol. Dox was attached via hydrazone linkage.
Nanoparticles degrade slowly under acidic conditions, and Dox is released at a rate of ~90% in 50 hrs at pH 4-5.  At pH 7.4, 10% release is seen over the same time span.