Ionically crosslinked composite gels containing amine-functionalized CoFeO nanoparticles as a bioactive and pH-responsive drug delivery system.

Composite gels are a type of soft matter, which contains a continuous three-dimensional crosslinked network and has been embedded with non-gel materials. Compared to pure gels, composite gels show high flexibility and tunability in properties and hence have attracted extensive interest in applications ranging from cancer therapy to tissue engineering. In this study, we incorporated triethylenetetramine (TETA)-functionalized cobalt ferrite nanoparticles (ANPs) into a hydrogel consisting of sodium alginate (SA) and methyl cellulose (MC), and examined the resulting composite gels for controlled drug release.