Antitumor activity of polycaprolactone/magnetic MIL-88 (Fe)/doxorubicin nanofibers-paclitaxel/magnetic MIL-88 (Fe)-loaded gelatin/chitosan 3D printed hybrid scaffold

Integrating diverse treatments, such as hyperthermia and chemotherapy, by employing locally administrated nanostructured formulations, such as metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), 3D-printed scaffolds, and electrospun nanofibers, appears beneficial as a post-surgery therapy for breast cancer. In this study, we fabricated polycaprolactone (PCL)/magnetic MIL-88 (Fe) MOFs/paclitaxel (PTX) nanofibers (PMP NFs) through electrospinning and produced a doxorubicin (DOX)-MOFs-loaded gelatin/chitosan hydrogel scaffold using a 3D-bioprinter (DMP layer) on top of the nanofibers. The prepared PMP NFs-DMP scaffold was evaluated for its efficacy in treating MCF-7 breast cancer cells through a combination of chemotherapy and magnetic hyperthermia. The prepared scaffold could discharge approximately 90% of PTX and DOX within 552 and 600 h, respectively, at pH levels of 5.5 and 7.4. The scaffold containing 5% magnetic MOFs, reached a temperature of 44.6°C in only 3 min under an alternating magnetic field (AMF). Treatment with the fabricated scaffold using chemo/hyperthermia resulted in a maximum MCF-7 cell death of 84.6%. The relative tumor volume using the PMP NFs-DMP scaffold under AMF reached 0.58 after 20 days. These findings demonstrate the potential of this novel local dual-layer scaffold as an alternative method for treating breast cancer, utilizing a combination of chemotherapy and magnetic hyperthermia.