Magnetite nanographene oxide has exhibited great potential in drug delivery and photothermal therapy (PTT) for cancer treatment. Here we developed 5-fluorouracil-loaded poly (lactic-co-glycolic acid)-coated magnetite nanographene oxide (NGO-SPION-PLGA-5-Fu) to simplify combined PTT and chemotherapy in one complex. The nanocarrier was synthesized using a modified O/W/O/W multiple emulsion solvent evaporation method and was characterized for size, zeta potential, drug loading, in vitro and in vivo release. In this paper, in vivo suppression effect of PTT and chemotherapy using this synthesized magnetite nanographene oxide was studied. The in vitro release of 5-Fu from nanoparticles showed that 41.36% of the drug was released within 24 h. In vivo release showed that 5-Fu has a sustained release profile and prolonged lifetime in the rabbit plasma. Remarkably, a single injection of NGO-SPION-PLGA-5-Fu and 808 nm near-infrared laser (NIR) irradiation for 3 min effectively suppressed the growth of tumours compared with 5-Fu alone (p < .01). Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) confirmed that the magnetic nanographene oxide was effectively targeted to the tumour site. Therefore, NGO-SPION-PLGA-5-Fu showed excellent PTT efficacy, magnetic targeting property, and MRI ability, indicating that there is a great potential of NGO-SPION-PLGA-5-Fu for cancer theranostic applications.

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