Novel pH-responsive polyvinyl alcohol/Arabic gum /magnesium oxide nanobiocomposite for oral colon targeted drug delivery

In this study, we used a novel pH-responsive polyvinyl alcohol/Arabic gum/magnesium oxide (PVA/AG/MgO nanobiocomposite) as an oral colon targeted delivery system for doxorubicin (DOX). Effect of different contents of PVA, AG and MgO NPs on drug loading efficiency, release behavior and kinetics of the prepared nanobiocomposite were investigated. A high loading efficiency of 82% was observed at 3 mg PVA,3 mg AG, and 6 mg MgO nanoparticles. The drug release from this nanobiocomposite was excellent pH-sensitive. The cumulative drug release could reach 90% in the simulated colonic environment (pH 7.4) within 10 h while lower than 10% of drug released in the simulated gastric environment (pH 1.2) at 2 h. In vitro cytotoxicity studies revealed that the PVA/AG/MgO nanobiocomposite was highly biocompatible. This study confirmed that novel PVA/AG/MgO nanobiocomposite has excellent potential for oral pH-sensitive delivery of drugs for the treatment of colon cancer and other colon diseases.