Magnetic Mesoporous Nanocarriers for Drug Delivery with Improved Therapeutic Efficacy

Mesoporous CoNi@Au core@shell nanorods are synthesized as magnetic drug nanocarriers by electrodeposition using ionic liquid‐in‐aqueous microemulsions. Mesoporous nanorods present a highly effective area (186 m2 g−1) and magnetic character that allows their manipulation, concentration, and retention by applying a magnetic field. The nanorods have been functionalized with thiol‐poly(ethyleneglycol) molecules, and molecules of Irinotecan, a drug used in chemotherapy, are retained in both the lattice of the linked thiol‐poly(ethyleneglycol) molecules and inside the interconnected nanorods pores. The nanorods' mesoporous character allows a high drug‐loading capability and magnetic behavior that allows the drug's controlled release. A high cellular viability of HeLa cells is obtained after their incubation with the nanorods functionalized with thiol‐poly(ethyleneglycol). However, when the nanorods function as carriers for Irinotecan, significant cell death is occurred when HeLa cells are incubated with the functionalized, drug‐loaded nanorods. Cell death is also produced by applying an alternating magnetic field due to both the effect of the release of Irinotecan from the carrier as to mechanical damage of cells by nanorods subjected to the effect of a magnetic field. The proposal to used mesoporous magnetic nanorods as drug carriers can thus dramatically reduce the amounts of both nanocarrier and drug needed to efficiently destroy cancer cells. A new versatile and simple procedure to grow magnetic mesoporous nanorods is proposed, that produces magnetic drug nanocarriers with excellent drug‐loading and improved therapeutic efficacy. The nanostructures exhibit low toxicity but, when loaded with a carcinogenic drug, induce cell death as a combination of both mechanically and drug‐induced death, making them excellent candidates for drug delivery.