Dual-Targeting and pH-Responsive Graphene Oxide Nano-Platform for Synergistic Photothermal/Chemotherapy of NSCLC
摘要
Lung cancer continues to be a leading cause of cancer-related mortality worldwide, posing a significant challenge to global public health. In response to this challenge, the multifunctional nanoplatform HA-Hep-rGO@Gef (HHG@Gef) has been developed for synergistic photothermal-chemotherapy of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The nanocarrier was constructed by functionalizing reduced graphene oxide with hyaluronic acid (HA) and heparin, followed by the subsequent loading of the chemotherapeutic drug gefitinib (Gef). Comprehensive physicochemical characterization validated the successful synthesis and structural properties of the system. The HHG@Gef platform exhibited CD44-mediated active targeting, dual pH/enzyme-responsive drug release behavior, and heparin-induced suppression of cancer cell migration. Upon near-infrared (NIR) irradiation, the system demonstrated remarkable photothermal conversion capability (η = 13.64%). In vitro evaluations using A549 cells demonstrated a significant enhancement in antitumor efficacy with the combined therapy compared to individual monotherapies, reducing cell survival from 80.0% (control), 73.8% (photothermal therapy alone), and 36.0% (chemotherapy group) to 18.9%. These findings highlight the potential of this multifunctional graphene oxide-based nanoplatform as an effective strategy for combination cancer therapy.