Porous silica coated gold nanocages for chemo-photothermal combined therapy

The combination therapy that combines drug delivery with other treatments (e.g., photothermal therapy) has great advantages in treating tumors. Here, we prepared a promising versatile platform based on gold nanocages (Au NCs) poly (N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM) entrapped porous silica core−shell nanostructure (Au@SiO2-PNIPAM). This system not only served as a container for therapeutic drugs, but also had high photothermal conversion efficiency. The thermosensitive PNIPAM wrapping around porous silica acted as a gatekeeper to encapsulate the drug molecules within the channels of Au@SiO2-PNIPAM carrier. Under the light irradiation, Au NCs could absorb near-infrared (NIR) light and convert it into heat, which would promote the swelling of PNIPAM layer for releasing drug. The Au@SiO2-PNIPAM displays pH/light-responsive drug release and excellent photothermal-chemical combined therapeutic effect.