This study reports a new approach for the facile fabrication of calcium peroxide (CaO2) nanoparticles using tannic acid (TA) as the coordinate bridge between calcium ions. Tannylated-CaO2 (TA/CaO2) nanoparticles were prepared by reacting calcium chloride (CaCl2) with hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) in ethanol containing ammonia and different amounts of TA (10, 25, and 50 mg). The prepared TA/CaO2 aggregates consisted of nanoparticles 25–31 nm in size. The nanoparticles prepared using 10 mg of TA in the precursor solution exhibited the highest efficiency for oxygen generation. Moreover, the oxygen generation from TA (10 mg)/CaO2 nanoparticles was higher in an acidic environment.
Hyaluronic acid (HA)-based delivery systems for doxorubicin (DOX) have been developed to selectively target cancer cells and enhance their therapeutic effects while reducing systemic side effects. However, conventional methods for preparing HA-based drug delivery systems are often limited by multistep synthetic processes, time-consuming purification, and the use of crosslinkers or surfactants, which can cause undesired toxicities. To resolve these issues, we developed a facile one-pot method to prepare self-assembled sodium hyaluronate/doxorubicin (HA/DOX) nanoaggregates by mixing HA and DOX. The self-assembled HA/DOX nanoaggregates were formed via cation–π interactions between the aromatic moiety of DOX and Na+ ions in HA as well as electrostatic interactions between HA and DOX. The optimized HA/DOX nanoaggregates with a [DOX]/[HA] molar ratio of 5 had an average particle size of approximately 250 nm and a sphere-like shape. In vitro studies revealed that HA/DOX nanoaggregates effectively targeted CD44-overexpressing cancer cells, selectively delivering DOX into the cell nuclei more efficiently than free DOX and resulting in enhanced cytotoxic effects. Annexin V and transferase dUTP nick-end labeling assays confirmed that HA/DOX nanoaggregates induced apoptosis via DNA fragmentation more effectively than free DOX.