Article ID Journal Published Year Pages File Type
6486486 Biomaterials 2015 11 Pages PDF
Abstract
Developing novel multifunctional nanoparticles (NPs) with robust preparation, low cost, high stability, and flexible functionalizability is highly desirable. This study provides an innovative platform, termed unibody core-shell (UCS), for this purpose. UCS is comprised of two covalent-bonded polymers differed only by the functional groups at the core and the shell. By conjugating Gd3+ at the stable core and encapsulating doxorubicin (Dox) at the shell in a pH-sensitive manner, we developed a theranostic NPs (UCS-Gd-Dox) that achieved a selective drug release (75% difference between pH 7.4 and 5.5) and MR imaging (r1 = 0.9 and 14.5 mm−1 s−1 at pH 7.4 and 5.5, respectively). The anti-cancer effect of UCS-Gd-Dox is significantly better than free Dox in tumor-bearing mouse models, presumably due to enhanced permeability and retention effect and pH-triggered release. To the best of our knowledge, this is the simplest approach to obtain the theranostic NPs with Gd-conjugation and Dox doping.
Related Topics
Physical Sciences and Engineering Chemical Engineering Bioengineering
Authors
, , , , , , , ,