Fabrication and evaluation of anti-cancer efficacy of lactoferrin-coated maghemite and magnetite nanoparticles.

Studies on the anti-cancer effects of nanomaterials are a very important step in the clinical practice and treatment of cancerous tissues. Since IONPs have a high potential for cancer treatment, their anti-cancer properties can help us to resolve some of the therapeutic problems. For this purpose, in addition to synthesizing two types of IONPs including MN and MHN, Lf coating was used to increase their anti-cancer activity. MN and MHN were synthesized by hydrothermal and thermal methods, respectively, and their physicochemical properties were examined by SEM, zeta-potential, DLS, FTIR, TGA, and magnetism saturation. Molecular modelling was also done to model two steps of functionalization on the IONPs surface. In order to prove the biological activity of fabricated NPs