In situ mineralization of anticancer drug into calcium carbonate monodisperse nanospheres and their pH-responsive release property.

In this paper, we facilitated the preparation of uniform calcium carbonate nanospheres and the encapsulation of anticancer drug (Doxorubicin, Dox) in one step by a facile bio-inspired mineralization method at room temperature. Hesperidin (Hesp), a natural originated flavanone glycoside, was introduced as crystallization modifier. The obtained Dox encapsulated CaCO3 nanospheres (Dox@CaCO3-Hesp NSs) having a narrow size range of ~200 nm. The drug loading/release studies reveal that these Dox@CaCO3-Hesp NSs have a drug loading efficiency (DLE) of 83% and drug loading content (DLC) of 14wt%. Besides, the release of Dox from Dox@CaCO3-Hesp NSs was pH depended. At pH=7.4, only a small amount (~28%) of Dox was released. While at pH=5.0, all amount of incorporated Dox was released. Confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) image reveals the Dox@CaCO3-Hesp NSs can internalize the cells. These results suggest the Dox@CaCO3-Hesp NSs can be potentially used to utilize pH-responsive delivery of anticancer drugs.