There is a pressing need to develop more effective therapeutics to fight cancer. An idyllic chemotherapeutic is expected to overcome drug resistance of tumors and minimize harmful side effects to healthy tissues. Antibody-functionalized porous silicon nanoparticles loaded with a combination of chemotherapy drug and gold nanoclusters (AuNCs) are developed. These nanocarriers are observed to selectively deliver both payloads, the chemotherapy drug and AuNCs, to human B cells. The accumulation of AuNCs to target cells and subsequent exposure to an external electromagnetic field in the microwave region render them more susceptible to the codelivered drug. This approach represents a targeted two-stage delivery nanocarrier that benefits from a dual therapeutic action that results in enhanced cytotoxicity.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.