Tailoring magnetic Fe3O4 nanocarriers with chitosan and β-cyclodextrin for optimized ciprofloxacin release: a comparative study

Natural polysaccharide-derived materials such as chitosan (CS) and β–cyclodextrin (β–CD) have emerged as versatile platforms for designing next–generation drug delivery systems owing to their adjustable physicochemical behavior and excellent biocompatibility. In this work, magnetic nanocarriers based on Fe 3 O 4 were engineered in two forms, CS–coated nanoparticles (Fe 3 O 4 @CS) and β–CD–functionalized chitosan nanoparticles (Fe 3 O 4 @CS–g–β–CD), to investigate their performance in transporting ciprofloxacin (CIP). Structural, morphological, and magnetic analyses using 1 H NMR, FT–IR, FESEM, TEM, XRD, EDX, VSM, TGA, and zeta potential measurements verified the successful fabrication and stability of the hybrids. Drug loading parameters and release behavior were quantified via UV–Vis spectroscopy, and kinetic modeling was applied to clarify the release mechanisms. The β–CD–grafted system exhibited markedly enhanced CIP release, attributed to the combined effects of β–CD inclusion capability and the mucoadhesive nature of CS. Cytotoxicity assessments further demonstrated that Fe 3 O 4 @CS–g–β–CD/CIP achieved superior selective anticancer activity (SI = 2.42 at 48 h) compared with Fe 3 O 4 @CS/CIP (SI = 1.52), underscoring the beneficial role of β–CD incorporation in improving therapeutic efficacy