HMNPs@PDA-GQDs-FA as carries of gambogic acid for inhibiting VX2 tumor cells

Ellipsoidal hollow magnetic nanoparticles (HMNPs) were first synthesized through a hydrothermal method and coated with SiO2 2 via the Sto<spacing diaeresis>ber method, followed by template hydrothermal synthesis using C18TMS/TEOS 18 TMS/TEOS volume ratio for silica-shell formation. Then, the core-shell structure was grafted with graphene quantum dots (GQDs), dopamine hydrochloride (PDA), and folic acid (FA) by amide reaction to obtain HMNPs@PDA-GQDs-FA. Transmission electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, fluorescence spectroscopy, and N2 2 adsorption/desorption analysis confirmed the successful construction of the HMNPs@PDA-GQDs-FA nanoscale carrier-cargo composite. The carrier HMNPs@PDA-GQDs-FA had improved loading (51.63 %) and higher release (47.18 %) of gambogic acid (GA) at an acidic pH (5.7) than the release (32.23 %) at an acidic pH (7.4), showing the pH response of PDA to the surrounding environment of tumor cells. Cytotoxicity test results showed that the cell survival rate was above 95 %, indicating that the carrier-cargo had low cytotoxicity. Cell lethality was greatly improved after loading GA, and the advantages of using FA-grafted HMNPs as a targeting ligand for tumor imaging were demonstrated by SPECT imaging analysis. These results showed that HMNPs@PDA-GQDsFA had good biocompatibility and could be used for the treatment of VX2 tumors after loading GA.