Gold Nanoplates as Cancer-Targeted Photothermal Actuators for Drug Delivery and Triggered Release

Abstract

The selective exposure of cancerous tissue to systemically delivered chemotherapeutic agents remains a major challenge facing cancer therapy. To address this question, a near infrared responsive oligonucleotide-coated (AS1411, hairpin, or both) gold nanoplate loaded with doxorubicin is demonstrated to be nontoxic to cells without triggered release, while being acutely toxic to cells after 5 minutes of laser exposure to trigger DOX release. Conjugation of oligonucleotides to the nanoplates is confirmed by an average increase in hydrodynamic diameter of 30.6 nm, an average blue shift of the plasmon resonance peak by 36 nm, and an average −10 mV shift in zeta potential of the particles. DOX loading through intercalation into the hairpin DNA structure is confirmed through fluorescence measurements. For both GNP-Hairpin and GNP-Hairpin-AS1411, ~60% of loaded DOX is released after the first 5 minutes of laser exposure (λ=817 nm), with complete release after two more 5-minute exposures. Preliminary proof of concept is demonstrated in vitro using A549 and MDA-MB-231 cell lines as models for breast and lung cancer, respectively. Exposure of cells to untriggered DOX-loaded conjugate with no laser exposure results in little to no toxicity, while laser-triggered release of DOX causes significant cell death.

Gold nanoparticle‐mediated photothermal therapy: applications and opportunities for multimodal cancer treatment

“…For instance, Strong et al created NSs coated with a thin poly(N‐isopropylacrylamide‐co‐acrylamide) hydrogel layer that remained swollen under physiological conditions, but expelled water and encapsulated drugs at higher temperatures achieved during NIR irradiation . Similarly, thiolated ligands attached to AuNPs can be used to carry intercalating agents that are released upon photothermal irradiation (Figure (c)) . Overall, strategies for combination PTT and chemotherapy such as those reviewed here have great promise to increase treatment efficacy while minimizing off‐target effects.…”

“…53 Similarly, thiolated ligands attached to AuNPs can be used to carry intercalating agents that are released upon photothermal irradiation (Figure 3(c)). 54,55 Overall, strategies for combination PTT and chemotherapy such as those reviewed here have great promise to increase treatment efficacy while minimizing off-target effects.…”

Polymer-Based Nanocarriers for Co-Delivery and Combination of Diverse Therapies against Cancers

“…Wang et al managed to load PEI with DOX-intercalated DNA and wrapped gold nanorods (AuNRs) with the polymer-based composite, fabricating a multi-modal nanocarrier with a very low IC 50 of 2.88 µg/mL for MCF-7/ADR cells [ 74 ]. In some reports, unconventional polymers were also utilized, e.g., aptamer [ 60 , 75 ] and even red blood cell (RBC) membrane [ 76 ].…”

“…In the scope of this review, frames are (but not limited to) carbon-based nanomaterials (mesoporous carbon nanoparticle, graphene, graphene oxide, single- or multi-walled carbon nanotubes, etc.) [ 29 , 36 , 37 , 39 , 41 , 59 , 63 , 66 , 68 , 79 , 94 , 95 , 96 , 97 , 98 ], silica-based nanomaterials [ 30 , 31 , 93 , 99 ], nanogold materials [ 75 , 77 , 78 , 99 , 100 , 101 , 102 , 103 ], polydopamine (PDA) [ 28 , 47 , 67 ], polypyrrole (PPy) [ 27 , 49 , 69 , 70 , 71 , 72 , 73 , 94 ], metal organic frameworks [ 73 , 104 ], Prussian blue [ 104 , 115 ], other inorganic materials [ 22 , 35 , 69 , 105 ,…”

Heat Dissipation of Resonant Absorption in Metal Nanoparticle-Polymer Films Described at Particle Separation Near Resonant Wavelength

“…Thermal damping of resonant nanoparticles (NPs) dispersed in optically transparent polymer could affect potential implementations in biomedical therapeutics [1,2], solar cells [3][4][5][6], optical interconnects [7][8][9], sensing [10][11][12], and chemical separation [13]. Optical damping by subwavelength Mie scatterers [14] in the Rayleigh regime [15] whose scattering cross sections are negligible [16] is due to absorption [17].…”