An On-Demand pH-Sensitive Nanocluster for Cancer Treatment by Combining Photothermal Therapy and Chemotherapy

• Main Authors: Taehoon Sim, Chaemin Lim, Ngoc Ha Hoang, Yuseon Shin, Jae Chang Kim, June Yong Park, Jaewon Her, Eun Seong Lee, Yu Seok Youn, Kyung Taek Oh
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2020-09-01
• Series: Pharmaceutics
• Subjects: gold nanorod; photothermal therapy; chemotherapy; cancer; pH sensitive polymer; controlled release
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4923/12/9/839

Combination therapy is considered to be a promising strategy for improving the therapeutic efficiency of cancer treatment. In this study, an on-demand pH-sensitive nanocluster (NC) system was prepared by the encapsulation of gold nanorods (AuNR) and doxorubicin (DOX) by a pH-sensitive polymer, poly(aspartic acid-graft-imidazole)-PEG, to enhance the therapeutic effect of chemotherapy and photothermal therapy. At pH 6.5, the NC systems formed aggregated structures and released higher drug amounts while sustaining a stable nano-assembly, structured with less systemic toxicity at pH 7.4. The NC could also increase antitumor efficacy as a result of improved accumulation and release of DOX from the NC system at pH_ex and pH_en with locally applied near-infrared light. Therefore, an NC system would be a potent strategy for on-demand combination treatment to target tumors with less systemic toxicity and an improved therapeutic effect.