Spatiotemporally controlled AuNPs@ZIF-8 based nanocarriers for synergistic photothermal/chemodynamic therapy

Abstract

High efficiency and spatio-temporal control remains a challenge for multi-modal synergistic cancer therapy. Herein, based on gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) and zeolite-like imidazole skeleton material (ZIF-8), a spatio-temporal controllable photothermal/ chemical dynamic/ chemotherapy three modal synergistic anti-tumor nano-carrier (HAZD) was developed. HAZD has a size of 128.75 ± 11.86 nm, a drug loading ratio of 21.5 ± 2.2 % and an encapsulation efficiency of 71.8 ± 1.7 %. Stability, acid responsive release character, outstanding catalytic ability to generate ROS, relatively high thermal conversion efficiency up to 62.38 % and spatio-temporal controllable abilities are also found within this nano-carrier. Furthermore, HAZD performed good antitumor ability in vivo with the comprehensive effects of photothermal/ chemical dynamic/ chemotherapy. The tumor growth inhibition value is 97.1 % within 12 days, indicating its great potential in multi-modal synergistic cancer therapy. Statement of significanceCancer remains one of the major culprits that seriously harm human health currently. With the development of materials and nanotechnology, great improvements have been made in multimodal anti-tumor strategies. However, temporal- and spatial-controllable multi-modal synergistic nanocarriers are urgently awaited for efficient and low-toxicity tumor therapy. This article proposes a spatio-temporally controllable three-modal anti-tumor strategy and designs an anti-tumor drug delivery system based on gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) and zeolite-like imidazole skeleton material (ZIF-8), which shows acid-responsive release characteristics, catalytic ability to generate ROS, relatively high thermal conversion efficiency up to 62.38 %, as well as spatio-temporal controllable abilities. Moreover, it demonstrates outstanding anti-tumor ability, with a tumor growth inhibition value of 97.1 % within 12 days, revealing its significant potential for future personalized and precise anti-tumor treatments.