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Hierarchically Targeted and Penetrated Delivery of Drugs to Tumors by Size‐Changeable Graphene Quantum Dot Nanoaircrafts for Photolytic Therapy
Author(s) -
Su YuLin,
Yu TingWei,
Chiang WenHsuan,
Chiu HsinCheng,
Chang ChunHsiang,
Chiang ChiShiun,
Hu ShangHsiu
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
advanced functional materials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 6.069
H-Index - 322
eISSN - 1616-3028
pISSN - 1616-301X
DOI - 10.1002/adfm.201700056
Subject(s) - drug delivery , materials science , graphene quantum dot , doxorubicin , nanotechnology , rational design , graphene , nanocarriers , quantum dot , biodistribution , cancer therapy , cancer research , biophysics , cancer , chemistry , chemotherapy , medicine , biology , biochemistry , in vitro , surgery
Theranostic nanohybrids are promising for effective delivery of therapeutic drug or energy and for imaging‐guided therapy of tumors, which is demanded in personalized medicine. Here, a size‐changeable graphene quantum dot (GQD) nanoaircraft (SCNA) that serves as a hierarchical tumor‐targeting agent with high cargo payload is developed to penetrate and deliver anticancer drug into deep tumors. The nanoaircraft is composed of ultrasmall GQDs (less than 5 nm) functionalized with a pH‐sensitive polymer that demonstrates an aggregation transition at weak acidity of tumor environment but is stable at physiological pH with stealth function. A size conversion of the SCNA at the tumor site is further actuated by near‐infrared irradiation, which disassembles 150 nm of SCNA into 5 nm of doxorubicin (DOX)/GQD like a bomb‐loaded jet, facilitating the penetration into the deep tumor tissue. At the tumor, the penetrated DOX/GQD can infect neighboring cancer cells for repeated cell killing. Such a SCNA integrated with combinational therapy successfully suppresses xenograft tumors in 18 d without distal harm. The sophisticated strategy displays the hierarchically targeted and penetrated delivery of drugs and energy to deep tumor and shows potential for use in other tumor therapy.