Abstract
In this paper, we reported a ZnO quantum dot (QD) based nano drug delivery system by surface modification of hydrophilic copolymer poly(methacrylate-co-N-isopropylacrylamide-co-polyethylene glycol methyl acrylate) (ZnO@PMNE) that was synthesized by the one step copolymerization method. The ZnO@PMNE nanoparticles (ZnO@PMNE NPs) have excellent stability and photoluminescence performance in water. Moreover, it is temperature responsive and biodegradable in an acid microenvironment. ZnO@PMNE NPs loaded with doxorubicin (DOX) will degrade to zinc ions (Zn2+) and DOX at an acidic tumor microenvironment. Moreover, the cytotoxicity of cancer cells was significantly increased because the ZnO QDs exhibited cytotoxicity postdissolution compared to normal cells, which will achieve a synergistic antitumor effect to improve the therapeutic index.
Highlights
Cancer threatens people’s health worldwide, and radiation therapy and chemotherapy are the most widely used cancer treatments, which, have severe side effects with great sequelae.1,2 In the past few decades, drug delivery systems based on nanotechnology have been widely researched to improve the cancer treatment route and avoid the damage of healthy cells.3 The nano drug delivery systems (NDDSs) are potential candidates in a variety of smart nanoscale platforms that carry drugs and labeling agents, which is because their size, shape, and surface combination can be precisely controlled
In this paper, we reported a ZnO quantum dot (QD) based nano drug delivery system by surface modification of hydrophilic copolymer poly(methacrylate-co-N-isopropylacrylamide-co-polyethylene glycol methyl acrylate) (ZnO@PMNE) that was synthesized by the one step copolymerization method
The zeta potential of ZnO@PMNE was decreased to −0.26 mV, which is due to the poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) shell shielding of the surface charge of the nanoparticles
Summary
Cancer threatens people’s health worldwide, and radiation therapy and chemotherapy are the most widely used cancer treatments, which, have severe side effects with great sequelae. In the past few decades, drug delivery systems based on nanotechnology have been widely researched to improve the cancer treatment route and avoid the damage of healthy cells. The nano drug delivery systems (NDDSs) are potential candidates in a variety of smart nanoscale platforms that carry drugs and labeling agents, which is because their size, shape, and surface combination can be precisely controlled. In the past few decades, drug delivery systems based on nanotechnology have been widely researched to improve the cancer treatment route and avoid the damage of healthy cells.. The nano drug delivery systems (NDDSs) are potential candidates in a variety of smart nanoscale platforms that carry drugs and labeling agents, which is because their size, shape, and surface combination can be precisely controlled. These NPs include graphene, metal oxide NPs, carbon NPs, carbon nanotubes, mesoporous silica NPs, rare earth NPs, and polymer NPs.. ZnO NPs have the ability of rapidly dissolving Zn2+ and preferentially killing cancer cells at pH
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