Engineering Dual-Loaded PLGA Nanoparticles with Gold Nanorods and Doxorubicin as Robust Multimodal Nanoplatforms

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Materials Science
• Nanotechnology

Background:

• Cancer treatment complexity necessitates advanced combination therapies.
• Nanocarriers offer platforms for integrating multiple therapeutic modalities like chemotherapy and photothermal therapy.
• Developing stable, multifunctional nanocarriers is crucial for effective cancer theranostics.

Purpose of the Study:

• To create and characterize a dual-functional nanoplatform coencapsulating gold nanorods (AuNRs) and doxorubicin (DOX) within poly-(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) nanoparticles.
• To evaluate the stability and photothermal properties of the developed nanocarrier.
• To assess the in vitro cytotoxicity of the dual-loaded nanoparticles in breast cancer cells.

Main Methods:

• Optimization of gold nanorod (AuNR) encapsulation within PLGA nanoparticles.
• Characterization of nanoparticle size, polydispersity index (PDI), doxorubicin (DOX) loading, and gold content.
• Comprehensive stability testing including centrifugation-redispersion cycles and long-term storage.
• Evaluation of photothermal performance under near-infrared (NIR) irradiation.
• In vitro cytotoxicity assessment using MTT assays on MCF-7 human breast cancer cells.

Main Results:

• Optimized PLGA nanoparticles (≈246 nm) achieved narrow size distribution (PDI ≤ 0.1) and high drug/gold loading (DOX: 32 ± 4 μg mL⁻¹, Au: 48% encapsulation efficiency).
• The nanocarrier demonstrated excellent stability against aggregation and maintained photothermal efficacy (∼25 °C temperature increase) upon NIR irradiation.
• Cytotoxicity studies indicated that the chemotherapeutic payload primarily determined the cell death in the designed system.

Conclusions:

• The developed PLGA-encapsulated AuNR-DOX nanoplatform is a stable, dual-functional nanocarrier suitable for combined chemo-photothermal therapy.
• The nanocarrier exhibits promising characteristics for future in vivo investigations in dual-modality cancer theranostics.
• This research highlights the potential of integrated nanocarriers for advancing cancer treatment strategies.