Abstract
Smart drug delivery systems (SDDSs) for cancer treatment are of considerable interest in the field of theranostics. However, developing SDDSs with early diagnostic capability, enhanced drug delivery and efficient biodegradability still remains a scientific challenge. Herein, we report near-infrared light and tumor microenvironment (TME), dual responsive as well as size-switchable nanocapsules. These nanocapsules are made of a PLGA-polymer matrix coated with Fe/FeO core-shell nanocrystals and co-loaded with chemotherapy drug and photothermal agent. Smartly engineered nanocapsules can not only shrink and decompose into small-sized nanodrugs upon drug release but also can regulate the TME to overproduce reactive oxygen species for enhanced synergistic therapy in tumors. In vivo experiments demonstrate that these nanocapsules can target to tumor sites through fluorescence/magnetic resonance imaging and offer remarkable therapeutic results. Our synthetic strategy provides a platform for next generation smart nanocapsules with enhanced permeability and retention effect, multimodal anticancer theranostics, and biodegradability.
Highlights
Smart drug delivery systems (SDDSs) for cancer treatment are of considerable interest in the field of theranostics
In particular with regard to photodynamic therapy (PDT) and chemodynamic therapy (CDT), in which oxygen participates in cell killing process, the presence of hypoxia in tumor microenvironment (TME) will cause the failure of cancer treatment[24,25,26,27]
The formation of PPP was confirmed by the Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometer, which is shown in Supplementary Fig. S2
Summary
Smart drug delivery systems (SDDSs) for cancer treatment are of considerable interest in the field of theranostics. Small size NPs with a diameter of 4–20 nm penetrate into deep tumor tissues, but they are more prone to rapid clearance and insufficient drug retention To tackle these biological barriers, nanocapsules with size switchable function in different biological environments have been developed. DOX–ICG@Fe/FeO–PPP nanocapsules could shrink and decompose into small-sized nanodrugs triggered by photothermal effect of ICG under laser irradiation and lower pH value in TME. These capabilities show significantly enhanced intratumoral permeability to further improve the therapeutic effect in combination therapy with chemodynamic, photodynamic and chemotherapy. Owing to Fe/FeO NCs as MRI contrast agent and ICG as NIR imaging agent, DOX–ICG@Fe/FeO–PPP–FA nanocapsules can achieve imaging-guided synergetic therapy, which can provide essential information, including tumor size and location, optimal treatment time window and real-time efficacy evaluation
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