摘要
Stimuli-activated targeted delivery systems for highly accurate treatment of tumors have received considerable attention in recent years. Herein, we reveal a light-activable cancer-targeting strategy that uses a complementary DNA sequence to hybridize and mask sgc8 aptamers conjugated onto photothermal agents such as gold nanorods or single-walled carbon nanotubes （SWNTs）. Upon exposure to near-infrared （NIR） laser, localized photothermal heating of the surface of those nano-agents results in dehybridization of the double-stranded DNA and uncaging of the aptamer sequence to allow specific cancer-cell targeting. Utilizing doxorubicin-loaded SWNTs as a model system, targeted drug delivery to cancer cells activated by NIR light was achieved. This work demonstrates the concept of NIR-activable tumor-targeting delivery systems with controllable cancer-cell binding to potentially enable highly specific and efficient cancer therapy.
Stimuli-activated targeted delivery systems for highly accurate treatment of tumors have received considerable attention in recent years. Herein, we reveal a light-activable cancer-targeting strategy that uses a complementary DNA sequence to hybridize and mask sgc8 aptamers conjugated onto photothermal agents such as gold nanorods or single-walled carbon nanotubes （SWNTs）. Upon exposure to near-infrared （NIR） laser, localized photothermal heating of the surface of those nano-agents results in dehybridization of the double-stranded DNA and uncaging of the aptamer sequence to allow specific cancer-cell targeting. Utilizing doxorubicin-loaded SWNTs as a model system, targeted drug delivery to cancer cells activated by NIR light was achieved. This work demonstrates the concept of NIR-activable tumor-targeting delivery systems with controllable cancer-cell binding to potentially enable highly specific and efficient cancer therapy.
基金
This work was partially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China （Nos. 51222203 and 51132006）, the National Basic Research Program of China （Nos. 2011CB911002 and 2012CB932601）, a Jiangsu Natural Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars, the Macao Science and Technology Develop- ment Fund （No. 062/2013/A2） and the Research Fund of the University of Macao （Nos. MYRG2014-00033- ICMS-QRCM and MRGOO4/CMW/2014/ICMS）.
