Abstract / Summary
Abstract The integration of both chemotherapy and photothermal therapy in a single nanoplatform opens up new avenues in cancer theranostics. In this study, the use of dysprosium orthoferrite nanoparticles was studied. DyFeO 3 nanoparticles were coated with β-cyclodextrin-hyaluronate to create a multifunctional system for drug delivery, photothermal conversion and biological targeting. The structural and physicochemical characterizations of the DyFeO 3 nanoparticles revealed a broad optical absorption in the near-infrared region with an average hydrodynamic size of approximately 160 nm and superparamagnetic behavior, in addition to excellent encapsulation of 5-FU with a sustained drug release up to 200 h. When subjected to 808 nm laser, the nanoparticles showed rapid and concentration-dependent photothermal conversion efficiency of 68%. In vitro studies on MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cell line showed that photothermal activation of 5-FU loaded nanoplatform altered cell morphology and induced S phase arrest and apoptosis. The selective anti-cancer activity was also studied, and result showed significantly lower toxicity toward HEK293 cells. Additional studies using these ferrite nanoparticles as a drug delivery system for gentamicin further revealed photothermal-dependent inhibited growth of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. We present the DyFeO 3 nanoparticles as an excellent nanoplatform for photothermal therapy and controlled drug release.