Gold nanorods with an ultrathin anti-biofouling siloxane layer for combinatorial anticancer therapy

Abstract

Despite the wide utility of gold nanorods (GNRs) in biomedical fields, only a few methods for modifying or coating the surface of GNRs suitable for biomedical applications are available. In this study, we report a new facile method that enables formation of an ultra-thin (nanometre-thickness) siloxane layer on GNRs with anti-biofouling properties and ligand functionalisation ability. A triblock random copolymer, poly(TMSMA-r-PEGMA-r-NAS), was used to coat GNRs. An ultrathin polymeric shell was formed surrounding GNRs through acid-catalysed crosslinking of silicates of TMSMA. The polymer-coated GNRs (p-GNRs) exhibited high colloidal stability in biological solutions of high ionic strength and long-term stability superior to that of PEG_2k-S-GNRs. The functionalities of NAS were demonstrated using two methods for conjugating targeting ligands and loading doxorubicin via electrostatic interactions. The ligand-specific cancer-targeting ability and combinatorial chemo-photothermal anticancer effects were validated in vitro and in vivo, suggesting their potential utility in various fields.

Keywords:

• Anticancer therapy
• anti-biofouling coating
• gold nanorods
• photothermal therapy
• siloxane polymers

Disclosure statement

S.J. declares financial interest in BiliX. This company did not support the aforementioned research and currently have no rights to any technology or intellectual property developed as part of this research. The rest of the authors declare no competing financial interest.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Science and ICT (NRF-2018R1A3B1052661) and the Bio & Medical Technology Development Program of the NRF funded by the Korean Government (MSIT) (NRF-2018M3A9B5023527).