A carbon nanotube-gemcitabine-lentinan three-component composite for chemo-photothermal synergistic therapy of cancer

Abstract

Ping Zhang,1,2 Wenhui Yi,1,2 Jin Hou,3 Sweejiang Yoo,1,2 Weiqiu Jin,1,2 Qisheng Yang1,2 1Key Laboratory for Physical Electronics and Devices of the Ministry of Education, School of Information and Electronics Engineering, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, Shaanxi, People’s Republic of China; 2Key Laboratory for Information Photonic Technology of Shaanxi Province, School of Information and Electronics Engineering, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, Shaanxi, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Pharmacology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Xi’an Medical University, Xi’an, Shaanxi, People’s Republic of China Purpose: Gemcitabine’s clinical application is limited due to its short plasma half-life and poor uptake by cells. To address this problem, a drug delivery three-component composite, multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs)/gemcitabine (Ge)/lentinan (Le; MWNTs-Ge-Le), was fabricated in our study. Moreover, the combination of chemotherapy and photothermal therapy was employed to enhance antitumor efficacy. Methods: In this study, we conjugated gemcitabine and lentinan with MWNTs via a covalent and noncovalent way to functionalize with MWNTs, and the chemical structure of MWNTs-Ge-Le was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis and transmission electron microscopy. Using the composite and an 808 nm laser, we treated tumors, both in vitro and in vivo, and investigated the photothermal responses and the anticancer efficacy. Results: The MWNTs-Ge-Le composite could efficiently cross cell membrane, having a higher antitumor activity than MWNTs, gemcitabine and MWNTs-Ge in vitro and in vivo. Our study on the MWNTs-Ge-Le composite with an 808 nm laser radiation showed the combination of drug therapy and near-infrared photothermal therapy possesses great synergistic antitumor efficacy. Conclusion: The MWNTs-Ge-Le three-component anticancer composite can serve as a promising candidate for cancer therapy in the combination of chemotherapy and photothermal therapy. Keywords: drug-containing nanocomposites, characterization, near-infrared radiation, cancer therapy

Keywords

• drug-containing nanocomposites
• characterization
• near-infrared radiation
• cancer therapy