Dual-responsive Nanoparticles Research Articles

Dual-responsive nanoparticles that aggregate under the simultaneous action of light and CO2.

Metallic nanoparticles co-functionalised with monolayers of UV- and CO2-sensitive ligands were prepared and shown to respond to these two types of stimuli reversibly and in an orthogonal fashion. The composition of the coating could be tailored to yield nanoparticles capable of aggregating exclusively when both UV and CO2 were applied at the same time, analogously to the behaviour of an AND logic gate.

Thermal and pH Responsive Polymer-Tethered Multifunctional Magnetic Nanoparticles for Targeted Delivery of Anticancer Drug

Targeted and efficient delivery of therapeutics to tumor cells is one of the key issues in cancer therapy. In the present work, we report a temperature and pH dual responsive core-shell nanoparticles comprising smart polymer shell coated on magnetic nanoparticles as an anticancer drug carrier and cancer cell-specific targeting agent. Magnetite nanoparticles (MNPs), prepared by a simple coprecipitation method, was surface modified by introducing amine groups using 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane. Dual-responsive poly(N-isopropylacrylamide)-block-poly(acrylic acid) copolymer, synthesized by reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization, was then attached to the amine-functionalized MNPs via EDC/NHS method. Further, to accomplish cancer-specific targeting properties, folic acid was tethered to the surface of the nanoparticles. Thereafter, rhodamine B isothiocyanate was conjugated to endow fluorescent property to the MNPs required for cellular imaging applications. The nanoparticles were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), selected area electron diffraction (SAED), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), zeta potential, vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) measurements, and FTIR, UV-vis spectral analysis. Doxorubicin (DOX), an anticancer drug used for the present study, was loaded into the nanoparticles and its release behavior was subsequently studied. Result showed a sustained release of DOX preferentially at the desired lysosomal pH and temperature condition. The biological activity of the DOX-loaded MNPs was studied by MTT assay, fluorescence microscopy, and apoptosis. Intracellular-uptake studies revealed preferential uptake of these nanoparticles into cancer cells (HeLa cells) compared to normal fibroblast cells (L929 cells). The in vitro apoptosis study revealed that the DOX-loaded nanoparticles caused significant death to the HeLa cells. These nanoparticles were capable of target specific release of the loaded drug in response to pH and temperature and hence may serve as a potential drug carrier for in vivo applications.

Nanoparticles: Dual‐Responsive Nanoparticles and their Self‐Assembly (Adv. Mater. 3/2013)

Nanoparticles: Dual‐Responsive Nanoparticles and their Self‐Assembly (Adv. Mater. 3/2013)

Dynamically Self-Assembling Carriers Enable Guiding of Diamagnetic Particles by Weak Magnets

We show that diamagnetic particles can be remotely manipulated by a magnet by the reversible adsorption of dual-responsive, light-switchable/superparamagnetic nanoparticles down to their surface. Adsorption occurs upon exposure to UV light, and can be reversed thermally or by ambient light. The dynamic self-assembly of thin films of the dual-responsive nanoparticles induces attractive interactions between diamagnetic particles. We demonstrate that catalytic amounts of the dual-responsive nanoparticles are sufficient to magnetically guide and deliver the diamagnetic particles to desired locations, where they can then be released by disassembling the dynamic layers of superparamagnetic nanoparticles with visible light.

Dual‐Responsive Nanoparticles and their Self‐Assembly

Dual-responsive nanoparticles are designed by functionalizing magnetic cores with light-responsive ligands. These materials respond to both light and magnetic fields and can be assembled into various higher-order structures, depending on the relative contributions of these two stimuli.

PH and Redox Dual Responsive Nanoparticle for Nuclear Targeted Drug Delivery

To mimic the clinic dosing pattern, initially administering high loading dose and then low maintenance dose, we designed a novel poly(2-(pyridin-2-yldisulfanyl)ethyl acrylate) (PDS) based nanoparticle delivery system. Side chain functional PDS was synthesized by free radical polymerization. Polyethylene glycol and cyclo(Arg-Gly-Asp-d-Phe-Cys) (cRGD) peptide was conjugated to PDS through thiol-disulfide exchange reaction to achieve RPDSG polymer. RPDSG/DOX, RPDSG nanoparticle loaded with doxorubicin, was fabricated by cosolvent dialysis method. The size of the nanoparticles was 50.13 ± 0.5 nm in PBS. The RPDSG/DOX nanoparticle is stable in physiological condition while quickly releasing doxorubicin with the trigger of acidic pH and redox potential. Furthermore, it shows a two-phase release kinetics, providing both loading dose and maintenance dose for cancer therapy. The conjugation of RGD peptide enhanced the cellular uptake and nuclear localization of the RPDSG/DOX nanoparticles. RPDSG/DOX exhibits IC(50) close to that of free doxorubicin for HCT-116 colon cancer cells. Due to the synergetic effect of RGD targeting effect and its two-phase release kinetics, RPDSG/DOX nanoparticles display significantly higher anticancer efficacy than that of free DOX at concentrations higher than 5 μM. These results suggest that RPDSG/DOX could be a promising nanotherapeutic for tumor-targeted chemotherapy.

Stimuli-responsive magnetic particles and their applications in biomedical field

In recent years, with the rapid development of pharmaceutical industry, the stimuli-responsive particles and magnetic particles have gained wide investigations in fundamental studies and technological applications. These particles represent dramatic characteristics in the fields of immunodetection, gene transfection, hyperthermia and drug delivery. In this article, the advances for different types of stimuli-responsive particles were described, such as temperature responsive polymers, pH responsive polymers and temperature/pH‐dual‐responsive polymers. Finally, their properties and applications in drug control release were discussed. In addition, some works on magnetic particles are reviewed, including the synthesis methods, physicochemical properties of particles and their applications in biomedical field. The effects of synthesis methods on physicochemical properties of particles are also discussed. On these bases, the fabrications of novel stimuli-responsive magnetic systems such as temperature-responsive magnetic nanoparticles and temperature/pH‐dual responsive magnetic nanoparticles are discussed. Their applications in drug control release are also reviewed.

Thermo and pH Dual‐Responsive Nanoparticles for Anti‐Cancer Drug Delivery

Thermo and pH Dual‐Responsive Nanoparticles for Anti‐Cancer Drug Delivery