Magnetoliposomes containing
calcium ferrite (
CaFe2O4) nanoparticles were developed and characterized for the first time.
CaFe2O4 nanoparticles were covered by a
lipid bilayer or entrapped in
liposomes forming, respectively, solid or aqueous magnetoliposomes as nanocarriers for new
antitumor drugs. The magnetic nanoparticles were characterized by UV/Visible absorption, XRD, HR-TEM, and SQUID, exhibiting sizes of 5.2 ± 1.2 nm (from TEM) and a superparamagnetic behavior. The magnetoliposomes were characterized by DLS and TEM. The incorporation of two new potential
antitumor drugs (
thienopyridine derivatives) specifically active against
breast cancer in these nanosystems was investigated by fluorescence emission and anisotropy. Aqueous magnetoliposomes, with hydrodynamic diameters around 130 nm, and solid magnetoliposomes with sizes of ca. 170 nm, interact with biomembranes by fusion and are able to transport the
antitumor drugs with generally high encapsulation efficiencies (70%). These fully biocompatible
drug-loaded magnetoliposomes can be promising as therapeutic agents in future applications of combined
breast cancer therapy.