Visible-light-sensitive titanium dioxide nanoplatform for tumor-responsive Fe2+ liberating and artemisinin delivery

Artemisinin is a kind of Fe²⁺-dependent drugs. Artemisinin and Fe²⁺ co-transport systems can improve its anti-tumor effect. In this study, a visible light-sensitive nanoplatform (HA-TiO₂-IONPs/ART) was developed. Detailed investigation demonstrated that HA-TiO₂-IONPs/ART could realize Fe²⁺ and artemisinin synchronous co-delivery and tumor-responsive release. This feature enhanced the anti-tumor efficiency of artemisinin significantly. In vitro results proved that hyaluronic acid modification could improve the biocompatibility, dispersion stability and cytophagy ability of nanocarriers. Furthermore, this drug delivery system could generate reactive oxygen species under visual light irradiation. In vitro and in vivo experiments demonstrated that HA-TiO₂-IONPs/ART combining with laser irradiation displayed the best anti-tumor efficacy. This study affords a promising idea to improve the curative efficiency of artemisinin analogs for cancer therapy.