Mesoporous Carbon Nanospheres with ZnO Nanolids for Multimodal Therapy of Lung Cancer

To improve therapeutic efficacy, we designed novel poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG)-modified oxidized mesoporous carbon nanospheres (OMCNPs) that were loaded with the therapeutic drug doxorubicin (DOX) and targeted with ligand hyaluronic acid (HA) to kill lung cancer cells. ZnO quantum dots (ZnO QDs) were introduced not only to cap OMCNP-based carriers but also to chelate with DOX, which exhibited a high drug-loading capacity. Upon cellular uptake, the pH-sensitive ZnO lids dissolved to Zn²⁺ in tumor cells, resulting in dissociation of the Zn²⁺-DOX complex and controlled release of DOX. Moreover, the novel OMCNP-based system could generate hyperthermia and facilitate the release of loaded DOX with near-infrared (NIR) irradiation. The combined chemo-/photothermal-targeted therapy exhibited significant advantages superior to single chemotherapy or photothermal therapy. This technology provided an excellent lung cancer cell-targeted drug delivery system, integrating chemotherapy with photothermal therapy. This chemo-/photothermal therapy effectively improved the therapeutic efficacy with lower adverse effects to normal tissues.