Aptamer-functionalized hollow carbon nanospheres for the targeted chemo-photothermal therapy of breast tumor†

Hollow carbon nanospheres (HCNs) are an ideal nanomaterial for photothermal therapy (PTT) owing to their low cytotoxicity, excellent photothermal conversion performance, unique cavities and porous shells. However, poor targeting and inadequate efficiency hugely impede their clinical application. Herein, a novel targeted therapeutic system HCNs/DOX/PEG/Apt-M was successfully constructed, which exhibited specific recognition and binding capabilities towards MCF-7 cells. As expected, the therapeutic system could rapidly accumulate in the MCF-7 cells with the aid of the MUCI aptamer (Apt-M). Furthermore, the therapeutic system exhibited excellent DOX controlled release ability during treatments to facilitate chemotherapy (CHT). Under laser irradiation, the therapeutic system could effectively absorb the near-infrared light and generate a large amount of heat to achieve PTT. Moreover, the temperature elevation of the therapeutic system promoted DOX release and enhanced the potency of CHT. Excitingly, experimental results confirmed that HCNs/DOX/PEG/Apt-M exhibited excellent CHT–PTT combination therapeutic effect and the active targeting efficiency for the MCF-7 tumor. This study opened a new avenue to breast tumor-targeted therapy based on novel nanomaterials.