A Smart, Photocontrollable Drug Release Nanosystem for Multifunctional Synergistic Cancer Therapy

Multifunctional synergistic therapy holds promise in biomedical studies and clinical practice. However, strategies aimed at easily integrating the components of such multimodal therapies are needed. Therefore, we herein report a smart drug release nanosystem able to perform photodynamic therapy, photothermal therapy and chemotherapy in a photocontrollable manner. Doxorubicin (DOX), a chemotherapy drug, and 5, 10, 15, 20-tetrakis (1-methylpyridinium-4-yl) porphyrin (TMPyP4), a photosensitizer, were physically intercalated into a DNA assembly immobilized on gold nanorods. The drugs were efficiently delivered to target cells and released under light irradiation, resulting in a synergism that combined phototherapy and chemotherapy for cancer treatment. This smart, photocontrollable drug release nanosystem promises precisely controlled drug release for multifunctional synergistic cancer therapy.