Abstract
Amino acid monomeric units can contribute significantly to a biomass-based and sustainable material because their biomass origin polymers composed of amino acids as in their backbone are biocompatible materials with unique physical properties. In this study, we developed a novel reduction and pH-sensitive poly(disulfide-amide) nanoparticles based on cystine amino acid loaded with doxorubicin (DOX) [(DOX/Cys-PA) NP
S
] as a fascinating class of nanocarriers that can be applied for targeting anticancer DOX drug delivery. The particle size of (DOX/Cys-PA) NP
S
with a size range between 200 and 250 nm and parent loading of 12% was prepared using the ionic gelation method by adding FeCl
3
polyanion chelating agent, Fe
3+
form cross-link between the polymer chain. As a result, a characteristic peak for iron appears in XRD analysis. Furthermore, the disulfide linkages enhance the (DOX/Cys-PA) NP
S
degradability by glutathione (GSH), and the chelating bond of Fe
3+
enhances the response to pH change. Consequently, in vitro release of DOX at pH 7.4 demonstrates relative stability of the (DOX/Cys-PA) NP
S
in the bloodstream (pH 7.4) and rapid release of the DOX inside endosomes (pH 5.8 and 0.1 M GSH) of tumor cells.
Graphical Abstract