Upper-critical solution temperature (UCST) polymer functionalized
nanomedicine for controlled drug release and hypoxia alleviation in
tumor therapy
Abstract
Recently, nanomedicine have been successfully applied in the cancer
therapy. However, how to precisely control the drug release from
nanomedicine in tumor tissue and overcome the hypoxic microenvironment
of tumor tissue is still an important challenge in the development of
nanomedicine. In this work, a new type of drug-loaded nanoparticles
P(AAm-co-AN)-AuNRs@CeO2-DOX (PA-DOX) was prepared by combining
high-efficiency photothermal reagents, critical up-conversion
temperature polymer layer and anti-cancer drug doxorubicin (DOX) for the
treatment of liver cancer. In this system, CeO2 can decompose hydrogen
peroxide to H2O2 and O2 alleviate the anaerobic microenvironment of
liver cancer cells. As a photothermal reagent, AuNRs@CeO2 can convert
near-infrared light into heat energy to achieve local heat to kill
cancer cells and ablate solid tumors. In addition, the elevated
temperature would enable the polymer layer to undergo a phase transition
to release more DOX to achieve a controlled release mechanism, which
will open up a new horizon for clinical cancer treatment