Mesoporous silica nanoparticles combining Au particles as glutathione and pH dual-sensitive nanocarriers for doxorubicin.

Mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) combining gold particles (MSNs-Au) were synthesized as nanocarriers for glutathione (GSH) and pH dual-sensitive intracellular controlled release of the anti-cancer drug doxorubicin (DOX). The MSNs were used as an adsorbent for DOX, and the ultra-small gold nanospheres (Au NPs) partly operated as gatekeepers to control the release of DOX from the pores of MSNs and as the driver of drug release in the presence of GSH due to the association between GSH and Au particles. Under different pH conditions, DOX release changed due to different levels of dissociation between the -SH group on the MSNs and the Au particles. The composition, morphology, and properties of the as-prepared composites were characterized by elemental analysis, fluorescence spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, nitrogen adsorption-desorption, thermal gravimetric and UV-visible spectroscopy. The in vitro release experiments showed that these smart nanocarriers effectively avoided drug leakage in the neutral media. Cytotoxicity and imaging studies also indicated that DOX-loaded Au-MSNs (DOX@MSNs-Au) had a significant inhibitory effect on the growth of Tca8113 cells and sustained the release rate of DOX.