Effect of pH on the synthesis of fucoidan-coated magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles for biomedical applications

Nano drug delivery system is a highlight among advanced drug delivery systems. They offer many advantages such as improved efficacy, reduced toxicity and improved patient compliance over conventional drug delivery systems. Purpose of this study was to develop new magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles containing fucoidan, a recently promising material discovered from the ocean, for diagnosis and cancer therapy. The nanoparticles were prepared using ultrasonication method. Fucoidan concentration was determined by conductometric titration. Fucoidan was investigated to be attached to iron oxide nanoparticles in the buffers of pH 6, pH 7 and pH 8. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to characterize surface morphology and particle shape. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) was also used to investigate the structure of the fucoidan-coated iron oxide nanoparticles. Percentage of fucoidan, which was coated on iron oxide nanoparticles, was 87.7412%, 74.4936% and 63.0362% at pH 7, pH 6 and pH 8, respectively. The SEM image showed the spherical shape and size of fucoidan modified iron oxide nanoparticles less than 100 nm. Moreover, the FTIR spectra indicated the presence of fucoidan on iron oxide nanoparticles. The fucoidan concentration on the surface of iron oxide nanoparticles was depended on the change of pH media. The current nanoparticles can be introduced into further experiments for biomedical applications including therapeutics and diagnostics.