Multi-stimuli-responsive carboxymethyl cellulose/κ-carrageenan nanogels integrated with magnetic graphene oxide for colon-specific delivery of sunitinib

Abstract The multi-stimuli-responsive nanohydrogels provide a powerful strategy for enhancing drug utilization, preservation, controlled release, and minimizing systemic toxicity. Herein, we designed and developed a new multi-stimuli-responsive magnetic graphene oxide (MGO) integrated carboxymethyl cellulose/κ-carrageenan (CMC/CG/MGO) nanogels (NGs) for colon-specific delivery of sunitinib (SU). The physicochemical properties of the CMC/CG/MGO NGs were investigated by various analytical techniques of XRD, FTIR, TGA VSM, DLS, BET, and FESEM/TEM. The in-vitro SU release results exhibited that the CMC/CG/MGO NGs have a sustained release behavior with good pH, magnetic field, and near-infrared (NIR) light-dependent properties. The integrated photothermal agent MGO endowed the CMC/CG NGs with efficient photothermal properties, enabling precise SU release control under NIR laser irradiation. The CMC/CG/MGO/SU NGs displayed a good photothermal conversion effect (η = 38.5%). Besides, the CMC/CG/MGO NGs were not cytotoxic (cell viability > 73% at 15.6–500 ppm) for the L929 fibroblast and Caco-2 cell lines. The MTT results also revealed that the CMC/CG/MGO/SU NGs exhibited enhanced anti-cancer activity compared to free SU under NIR laser irradiation. These results highlight the potential of CMC/CG/MGO/SU NGs as a promising candidate for remotely controlled multi-stimuli-responsive drug delivery. Graphical abstract