Mesoporous silica-coated gold nanoframes as drug delivery system for remotely controllable chemo-photothermal combination therapy

Tumor cells experience higher chemotherapy stress under condition of elevated temperature. As a result, developing novel nanoagents that integrates chemotherapy and thermotherapy holds great promise in biomedicine. Herein, utilizing spatially confined galvanic replacement method, we fabricated a yolk-shell Au@mSiO(2) nanoframes with Au NPs and mesoporous silica as yolk and shell, respectively, to sever as an excellent drug nanocarrier with effective photothermal conversion efficiency. Taking full advantage of the high temperature response of the Au@mSiO(2) nanoframes, the phase change material 1-tetradecanol (TD) was creatively employed as gatekeepers, intelligently controlling the release of loaded agents. Then, the actively targeted Alanine-Alanine-Asparagine, legumain-recognizable oligopeptides was decorated on the surface of the prepared nano frames. Upon exposure to near-infrared light, the GC-PtAu@mSiO(2)-TD nanoframes not only exhibited a high localized temperature response, but also triggered the quick release of loaded cargos, and thus improved the chemotherapeutic efficacy. The in vitro cytotoxicity studies indicated the remarkable synergistic effects. Meanwhile, the laser confocal studies and flow cytometry showed the oligopeptides facilitated the intracellular uptake of GC-PtAu@mSiO(2)-TD nanoframes in MGC-803 cells. Our study highlighted the great potential of the GC-PtAu@mSiO(2)-TD nanoframes in drug delivery and the combination of chemotherapy and photothermal therapy.