Single-phased luminescent mesoporous nanoparticles for simultaneous cell imaging and anticancer drug delivery

Multifunctional materials for biological use have mostly been designed with composite or hybrid nanostructures in which two or more components are incorporated. The present work reports on a multifunctional biomaterial based on single-phased luminescent mesoporous lanthanide oxide nanoparticles that combine simultaneous drug delivery and cell imaging. A simple strategy based on solid-state-chemistry thermal decomposition process was employed to fabricate the spherical mesoporous Gd2O3:Eu nanoparticles with homogeneous size distribution. The porous nanoparticles developed by this strategy possess well-defined mesopores, large pore size and volume, and high specific surface area. The mesoporous features of nanoparticles impart the material with capabilities of loading and releasing the drug with a relatively high loading efficiency and a sustained release behavior of drugs. The DOX-loaded porous Gd2O3 nanoparticles are able to kill the cancer cells efficiently upon incubation with the human cervical carcinoma (HeLa) cells, indicating the potential for treatment of cancer cells. Meanwhile, the intrinsic luminescence of Gd2O3:Eu nanoparticles gives the function of optical imaging. Therefore, the drug release activity and effect of drugs on the cells can be effectively monitored via luminescence of nanoparticles themselves, realizing multifunctionality of simultaneous cell imaging and anticancer drug delivery in a single-phased nanoparticle.