Abstract
A novel hybrid drug nanocarrier is developed with CuCo2S4 nanoparticles as the core to be encapsulated by poly(ionic liquid) (PIL), that is, poly(tetrabutylphosphonium styrenesulfonate) (P[P4,4,4,4][SS]), as the shell. Doxorubicin (DOX) is loaded onto the PIL shell via electrostatic attraction involving amine in DOX and styrenesulfonate in PIL. pH- and thermal-responsive characteristics of P[P4,4,4,4][SS] endow the multifunctional hybrid nanocarrier system DOX-CuCo2S4@PIL with sensitive dual-stimuli-triggered drug release behaviors. The CuCo2S4 core converts near-infrared (NIR) irradiation into thermal energy to trigger the shrinkage of the PIL shell, which subsequently promotes drug release, and the pH-responsive release of DOX involves pH-sensitive electrostatic interaction of the PIL shell with DOX. A favorable controlled release of 90.5% is achieved under pH/thermo dual stimuli. In vitro experiments with MCF-7 cells well demonstrated that the drug release is controlled by the acidic intracellular environment with NIR irradiation. The CuCo2S4 core also serves as a photoacoustic (PA) imaging contrast agent, as demonstrated by in vivo treatment of the MCF-7-carrying mice.
Original language | English |
---|---|
Pages (from-to) | 9000-9007 |
Number of pages | 8 |
Journal | ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces |
Volume | 12 |
Issue number | 8 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 26 Feb 2020 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- CuCoS
- DOX
- controlled release
- photoacoustic imaging
- poly(ionic liquid)