A Smart Drug Delivery System Based on Thermo-Responsive Polymer Gated Au NRs@SiO2 Nano-Platform

A key challenge for nanoparticles-based drug delivery system is to achieve manageable drug release in tumour cell. In this study, a versatile system combining photothermal therapy and controllable drug release for tumour cells using temperature-sensitive block copolymer coupled Au NRs@SiO2 is reported. While the Au NRs serve as hyperthermal agent and the mesoporous silica was used to improve the drug loading and decrease biotoxicity. The block copolymer acted as "gatekeeper" to regulate the release of model drug (Doxorubicin hydrochloride, DOX). Through in vivo and in vitro experiments, we achieved the truly controllable drug release and photothermal therapy with the collaborative effect of the three constituents of the nanocomposites. The reported nanocomposites pave the way to high-performance controllable drug release and photothermal therapy system.