ABSTRACT
Iron oxide nanoparticles have been used in a wide range of biomedical applications, including drug delivery, molecular imaging, and cellular imaging. Various surface modifications have been applied to the particles to stabilize their surface and to give them a moiety for anchoring tags and/or drug molecules. Conventional methods of delivering immunosuppressant drugs often require a high dose of drugs to ensure therapeutic effects, but this can lead to toxic side effects. In this study, we used silica-coated iron oxide nanoparticles (IOSs) for a drug delivery application in which the nanoparticles carry the minimum amount of drug required to be effective to the target cells. IOSs could be loaded with water-insoluble immunosuppressive drug molecules (MPA: mycophenolic acid) and be used as a contrast agent for MRI. We characterized the IOSs for their physicochemical properties and found their average hydrodynamic diameter and core size to be 40.5nm and 5nm, respectively. Following the introduction of MPA-loaded IOSs (IOS/M), we evaluated the secretion dynamics of cytokines from peripheral blood mononuclear cells stimulated with phytohemagglutinin (PHA). The results showed that IOS/M effectively inhibited the secretion of the cytokines interleukin-2 and tumor necrosis factor α, with a minimal concentration of MPA. In conclusion, IOS/M may have potential applications in both efficient drug delivery and MRI.