NIR-Activated Polydopamine-Coated Carrier-Free "Nanobomb" for In Situ On-Demand Drug Release

Carrier-free nanoparticles with high drug loading have attracted increasing attention; however, in situ on-demand drug release remains a challenge. Here, a novel near-infrared (NIR) laser-induced blasting carrier-free nanodrug delivery system is designed and fabricated by coating doxorubicin (DOX) nanoparticles (DNPs) with a polydopamine film (PDA) that would prolong the blood circulation time of DNPs and avoid the preleakage of the DOX during blood circulation. Meanwhile, the NH₄HCO₃ is introduced to trigger in situ "bomb-like" release of DOX for the production of carbon dioxide (CO₂) and ammonia (NH₃) gases driven by NIR irradiated photothermal effect of PDA. Both in vitro and in vivo studies demonstrate that the carrier-free nanovectors with high drug loading efficiency (85.8%) prolong tumor accumulation, enhance chemotherapy, achieve the synergistic treatment of chemotherapy and photothermal treatment, and do not induce any foreign-body reaction over a three-week implantation. Hence, the delicate design opens a self-assembly path to develop PDA-based NIR-responsive multifunctional carrier-free nanoparticles for tumor therapy.