Aqueous Stable Gold Nanostar/ZIF‐8 Nanocomposites for Light‐Triggered Release of Active Cargo Inside Living Cells

• Published in: Angewandte Chemie Vol. 131; no. 21; pp. 7152 - 7156
• Main Authors: Carrillo‐Carrión, Carolina, Martínez, Raquel, Navarro Poupard, María F., Pelaz, Beatriz, Polo, Ester, Arenas‐Vivo, Ana, Olgiati, Alessandro, Taboada, Pablo, Soliman, Mahmoud G., Catalán, Úrsula, Fernández‐Castillejo, Sara, Solà, Rosa, Parak, Wolfgang J., Horcajada, Patricia, Alvarez‐Puebla, Ramon A., del Pino, Pablo
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Weinheim Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 20.05.2019
• Subjects: Aqueous solutions; Cargo; Cells (biology); Chemistry; Confocal microscopy; Deoxyribonucleic acid; DNA; Gold; Metallorganische Gerüste; Microscopes; Microscopy; Nanocomposites; Raman spectroscopy; Temperature gradients; Thermoplasmonik; Wirkstofffreigabe; ZIF-8
• ISSN: 0044-8249; 1521-3757
• DOI: 10.1002/ange.201902817

A plasmonic core–shell gold nanostar/zeolitic‐imidazolate‐framework‐8 (ZIF‐8) nanocomposite was developed for the thermoplasmonic‐driven release of encapsulated active molecules inside living cells. The nanocomposites were loaded, as a proof of concept, with bisbenzimide molecules as functional cargo and wrapped with an amphiphilic polymer that prevents ZIF‐8 degradation and bisbenzimide leaking in aqueous media or inside living cells. The demonstrated molecule‐release mechanism relies on the use of near‐IR light coupled to the plasmonic absorption of the core gold nanostars, which creates local temperature gradients and thus, bisbenzimide thermodiffusion. Confocal microscopy and surface‐enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) were used to demonstrate bisbenzimide loading/leaking and near‐IR‐triggered cargo release inside cells, thereby leading to DNA staining. Gezielte Freigabe: Ein thermoresponsiver Träger wurde entwickelt, der aus mit ZIF‐8 beschichteten Gold‐Nanosternen, die durch amphiphile Polymere stabilisiert sind, aufgebaut ist und durch Licht ausgelöst eingekapselte Wirkstoffe in Zellen freigeben kann. Das System ist sowohl in wässriger Lösung als auch in Zellen stabil und kombiniert Thermoplasmonik mit effektiver Wirkstoffbeladung.