Gold nanoshells with micellar core for the delivery of hydrophobic chemotherapeutic and cancer photothermal therapy

In the present study, we established a multifunctional gold nanoshell (GNS) that utilizing positively charged PDMA-b-PCL micelles as a template. By growing the gold layer on the surface of micelles, this newly synthesized GNS with micellar core enable the delivery of hydrophobic chemotherapeutics. The synthesized SN-38@pGNS had a spherical morphology and a narrow size distribution. With the exposure to NIR laser irradiation, SN-38@pGNS exhibited an excellent photothermal conversion efficiency. Moreover, the combination of chemotherapy and photothermal therapy resulted in a significant anticancer effect in the in vitro study. These results suggested the gold nanoshells with micellar core can serve as not only a photothermal mediator but also a delivery system for hydrophobic drugs. Therefore, the synthesized gold nanoshells with micellar core can be applied as a potential multifunctional therapeutics for cancer therapy in the future.