Directed Graphene-Based Nanoplatforms for Hyperthermia: Overcoming Multiple Drug Resistance.

Multidrug resistance (MDR), which leads tumors resistance to traditional anticancer drugs, can cause the failure of chemotherapy treatments. Herein, we present a new way to overcome this problem using smart multifunctional graphene-based drug delivery systems which can target subcellular organelles and show synergistic hyperthermia and chemotherapy. Mitochondria-targeting ligands are conjugated onto the doxorubicin-loaded, polyglycerol-covered nanographene sheets to actively accumulate them inside the mitochondria after charge-mediated cellular internalization. Upon near-infrared (NIR) irradiation, adenosine triphosphate (ATP) synthesis and mitochondrial function were inhibited and doxorubicin released into the cellular interior. The hyperthermia-accelerated drug release led to a highly selective anticancer efficiency, confirmed by in vitro and in vivo experiments.