Gold-Aptamer-Modified Metal–Organic Framework Drug Delivery Nanosystems for Combined Photothermal/Chemotherapy of Cancer

Abstract

The poor targeting and high toxicity of chemotherapeutic drugs make them less effective against breast cancer. In this study, in accordance with their photothermal effect, the aptamer (Apt) (AS1411) and doxorubicin (DOX) were linked to zeolite imidazole salt frame8 (ZIF-8) by using gold nanorods (Au NRs). Thereby, a multifunctional targeting nanoparticle platform (DOX/Au-Apt@ZIF-8) was constructed to deliver and effectively utilize DOX and realize the antitumor effects of the multimodal combination of chemotherapy−target−photothermal therapy. This platform was responsive to both pH and near-infrared (NIR) light.