Near-Infrared-Absorbing Gold Nanopopcorns with Iron Oxide Cluster Core for Magnetically Amplified Photothermal and Photodynamic Cancer Therapy

• Published in: ACS applied materials & interfaces Vol. 7; no. 21; pp. 11637 - 11647
• Main Authors: Bhana, Saheel, Lin, Gan, Wang, Lijia, Starring, Hunter, Mishra, Sanjay R, Liu, Gang, Huang, Xiaohua
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States American Chemical Society 03.06.2015
• Subjects: Absorption, Radiation; Breast Neoplasms - drug therapy; Breast Neoplasms - pathology; Cell Line, Tumor; Cell Survival - drug effects; Cell Survival - radiation effects; Gold - chemistry; Gold - radiation effects; Gold - therapeutic use; Humans; Hyperthermia, Induced - methods; Infrared Rays - therapeutic use; Magnetite Nanoparticles - chemistry; Magnetite Nanoparticles - ultrastructure; Nanocapsules - chemistry; Nanocapsules - ultrastructure; Photochemotherapy - methods; Photosensitizing Agents - administration & dosage; Photosensitizing Agents - chemistry; Phototherapy - methods; Treatment Outcome; magnetic attraction; photodynamic therapy; hybrid nanoparticles; photothermal therapy; iron oxide−gold nanopopcorns; cancer; drug delivery
• ISSN: 1944-8244; 1944-8252
• DOI: 10.1021/acsami.5b02741

We present the synthesis and application of a new type of dual magnetic and plasmonic nanostructures for magnetic-field-guided drug delivery and combined photothermal and photodynamic cancer therapy. Near-infrared-absorbing gold nanopopcorns containing a self-assembled iron oxide cluster core were prepared via a seed-mediated growth method. The hybrid nanostructures are superparamagnetic and show great photothermal conversion efficiency (η = 61%) under near-infrared irradiation. Compact and stable nanocomplexes for photothermal–photodynamic therapy were formed by coating the nanoparticles with near-infrared-absorbing photosensitizer silicon 2,3-naphthalocyannie dihydroxide and stabilization with poly­(ethylene glycol) linked with 11-mercaptoundecanoic acid. The nanocomplex showed enhanced release and cellular uptake of the photosensitizer with the use of a gradient magnetic field. In vitro studies using two different cell lines showed that the dual mode photothermal and photodynamic therapy with the assistance of magnetic-field-guided drug delivery dramatically improved the therapeutic efficacy of cancer cells as compared to the combination treatment without using a magnetic field and the two treatments alone. The “three-in-one” nanocomplex has the potential to carry therapeutic agents deep into a tumor through magnetic manipulation and to completely eradicate tumors by subsequent photothermal and photodynamic therapies without systemic toxicity.