1. Aptamer-Functionalized Gold Nanostars for on-Demand Delivery of Anticancer Therapeutics
- Author
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Lei Wu, Lihua Lin, Pei Zhao, Dalin Wu, Linlin Xu, Guoyi Yu, and Jun Yue
- Subjects
Oligonucleotide ,Chemistry ,Aptamer ,Biochemistry (medical) ,Photothermal effect ,technology, industry, and agriculture ,Biomedical Engineering ,Nanotechnology ,General Chemistry ,Receptor-mediated endocytosis ,Biomaterials ,On demand ,parasitic diseases ,Cancer cell ,Drug release - Abstract
Gold nanostars (AuNS) are promising carriers for targeted delivery of therapeutic oligonucleotides, but their potential in fabricating an on-demand drug release system in a facile and robust way remains to be explored. In this paper, we used a model aptamer (HApt), acting not only as a target ligand but also as a natural thermal-responsive material, to decorate AuNS. The prepared gold nanoconstruct, HApt@AuNS, displayed stoichiometric loading capacity of the anthracycline drug doxorubicin (Dox). The on-demand drug release was realized by illuminating nanoconstructs with near-infrared (NIR) light. Furthermore, a higher degree of Dox release from the nanoconstructs was achieved in an acidic environment, compared to neutral conditions. The
- Published
- 2020