Magnetite graphene oxide incorporated κ-carrageenan/alginate nanobiocomposite for photothermal therapy and multi-stimuli-responsive sunitinib release

Photothermal therapy is emerging as a promising approach for cancer treatment due to its minimally invasive nature, reduced systemic toxicity, and potential for targeted therapy. The practical implementation of photothermal therapy necessitates the development of efficient and multifunctional photothermal agents. The aim of this study was to develop magnetic nanobiocomposites with photothermal, pH- NIR-, and magnetic field-responsive properties. Magnetite graphene oxide (GO@Fe3O4) was prepared by depositing Fe3O4 magnetite nanoparticles onto graphene oxide (GO). The multifaceted nanobiocomposites were synthesized by combining GO@Fe3O4 with polymers of κ-carrageenan/alginate (CR/A) blend loaded with sunitinib (Su), an anticancer drug, using the emulsion method. These CR/A@GO@Fe3O4@Su nanobiocomposites were characterized using different analytical techniques including XRD, FTIR, SEM/TEM, TGA-DSC, VSM, and DLS. Under NIR (808 nm) irradiation, the CR/A@GO@Fe3O4@Su nanobiocomposite showed a satisfactory photothermal effect (η = 19.26 %). In vitro release studies demonstrated controlled, pH-, NIR-, and AMF-responsive release of sunitinib in a range of 20 % and 100 %. The rate of drug release was higher in an intestinal condition (74.04 %) compared to that in an acidic condition (20.34 %) for CR/A@(GO@Fe3O4)3@Su nanobiocomposite. MTT assays revealed that the CR/A@GO@Fe3O4@Su nanobiocomposite exhibited an improved effect when combined with photothermal therapy and chemotherapy at 0.03125 and 0.0625 mg/mL, resulting in excellent cytotoxicity (cell viability of 10.78 % and 10.57 %) towards cancer cells. The obtained results suggest that the formulated multi-responsive CR/A@GO@Fe3O4@Su nanobiocomposites could be a promising candidate for photothermal therapy in cancer treatment.