Chitosan/fucoidan multilayer coating of gold nanorods as highly efficient near-infrared photothermal agents for cancer therapy

Carbohydr Polym. 2019 May 1:211:360-369. doi: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2019.01.010. Epub 2019 Jan 4.

Abstract

Photothermal therapy (PTT) using chitosan/fucoidan multilayer coating of gold nanorods (CS/F-GNRs) has emerged as an alternative strategy for cancer therapy. In this study, biocompatible CS/F-GNRs were synthesized as a new generation of photothermal therapeutic agents for in vivo cancer treatments owing to their good biocompatibility, photostability, and strong absorption in the near-infrared (NIR) region. The CS/F-GNRs showed a good size distribution (51.87 ± 3.03 nm), and the temperature variation of the CS/F-GNRs increased by 54.4 °C after laser irradiation (1.0 W/cm2) for 5 min. The in vitro photothermal efficiency of CS/F-GNRs indicated that significantly more cancer cells were killed under laser irradiation at 1.0 W/cm2 for 5 min. On the 20th day of treatment, the MDA-MB-231 tumor cells in mice treated with CS/F-GNRs under laser irradiation had almost completely disappeared. Therefore, the biocompatible CS/F-GNRs have shown great promise as safe and highly efficient near-infrared photothermal agents for future cancer therapy.

Keywords: Chitosan; Fucoidan; Gold nanorods; Multilayer; Photothermal therapy.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Cell Line, Tumor
  • Chitosan* / administration & dosage
  • Chitosan* / chemistry
  • Female
  • Gold* / administration & dosage
  • Gold* / chemistry
  • Lasers
  • Mice, Inbred BALB C
  • Mice, Nude
  • Nanotubes* / chemistry
  • Neoplasms / pathology
  • Neoplasms / therapy*
  • Phototherapy*
  • Polysaccharides* / administration & dosage
  • Polysaccharides* / chemistry
  • Tumor Burden / drug effects

Substances

  • Polysaccharides
  • Gold
  • Chitosan
  • fucoidan