Synthesis of CoFe2O4/MoO2 Dumbbell-Shaped Nanoparticles with Enhanced AMF/NIR Induced Drug Delivery for Liver Cancer Treatment

Dumbbell-shaped CoFe2O4/MoO2 nanoparticles with a high surface area were synthesized by a wet-chemistry method. The nanoparticle surface was further modified with poly(methacrylic acid) (PMMA) to load doxorubicin (DOX), which was sealed within the composite with a phase change material of 1-tetradecanol (TD). Finally, the CoFe2O4/MoO2/PMMA/DOX/TD composite was prepared. The DOX release was induced by external magnetic/photothermal effects, with CoFe2O4 as the magnetic material and MoO2 as the photothermal material. The impacts of alternating magnetic field (AMF) frequency and near-infrared (NIR) irradiation power on the thermal effects and DOX release were investigated. Finally, the cytotoxicity of human liver tumor cells (hepatocellular carcinoma) with CoFe2O4/MoO2/PMMA/DOX/TD was studied under different conditions (AMF, NIR, and their combination). The results indicated that AMF/NIR combined thermal effects brought the maximum killing rate of the tumor cells. This research proposed a low-cost synthesis of hybrid thermal materials for AMF/NIR-induced DOX delivery for liver cancer treatment.