Stealth cross-linked polymeric nanoparticles for passive drug targeting: a combination of molecular docking and comprehensive in vitro assay

Till date, several studies have reported magnetic drug targeting as well as passive drug delivery. In this study, the passive characteristic of PEGylated carriers with a neutral surface charge rather than chitosan (CS)-based nanoparticles (NPs) with a positive charge was proved using molecular docking. The complete and without flaw stealth CS-coated magnetic NPs (mNPs) loaded with an anticancer drug for intravenous drug delivery were prepared using a modified ionic-crosslinking method. The physicochemical properties of the prepared magnetic-CS NPs were characterized in detail. The transmission electron micrographs of NPs showed an uniform particle morphology with an average diameter of smaller than 10 nm. The average IC50 values of the drug in PEGylated NPs for MCF-7 and PC-12 cells were 44 and 72 µM, respectively. The fabricated stealth NPs can increase the cytotoxicity and cell permeability of formulation that may release the entire drug in targeted shape to objective tissues that were firstly proved by molecular docking. This strategy showed a reduction in uptaking of mNPs by the reticuloendothelial system, which indeed increases the concentration of therapeutic agent(s) in the target site.