Nano chocolate Waffle for near-IR Responsive Drug Releasing System

Abstract

A majority of the photo-responsive drug-delivery systems that are currently being studied require a complicated synthesis method. Here, we prepare a near-infrared responsive, photothermally controllable, drug-delivery carrier by a simple mixing and extraction process without the incorporation of toxic chemicals. A blend of doxorubicin (DOX), an anticancer drug, and a phase-change material (PCM) are loaded onto the mesoporous structure of silica-coated graphene oxide (GO@MS) to form a waffle-like structure, which is confirmed by various physicochemical analyses. The cytotoxicity of DOX/PCM-loaded GO@MS (DOX/PCM-GO@MS) against HeLa cells is 50 times higher than that of free DOX, and this improved activity can be attributed to the photothermal effectiveness of GO@MS. Additionally, the cytotoxicity and uptake mechanism of the PCM-based material are analyzed by flow cytometry. Taken together, our results suggest an enormous potential for spatio-temporal control in photothermally responsive drug-delivery systems. A photo-thermoresponsive drug nanocarrier is easily prepared by the introduction of a thermo-sensitive medium (PCM) and an anticancer drug onto mesoporous silica-coated graphene oxide. As PCM is highly sensitive to temperature changes just above body temperature, the photothermal effect of graphene oxide induced by irradiation with NIR facilitates the rapid release of the drug with significantly increased cytotoxicity and enhanced imaging in vitro. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim