PDA/gold nanorod-based nanoparticles for synergistic genetic and photothermal combination therapy for cancer treatment

A series of new nanobiotechnology-based methods have been developed toward achieving safe and efficient cancer treatment.Gold nanorods(AuNRs)have attracted increasing attention owing to their unique optical char-acteristics,good biocompatibility,and low toxicity,and they have thus been widely used in tumor treatment.In this study,an AuNR-based system was designed by attaching microRNA-192(miR-192)to polydopamine-coated AuNRs(AuNR@PDA)to explore the possibility of combining genetic and photothermal therapies.RNA/AuNR@PDA exhibited an excellent thermal conversion efficiency under near-infrared(NIR)laser irradi-ation and excellent biocompatibility.Thus,photothermal therapy(PTT)was combined with gene therapy,which was effected by miR-192,a genetic drug that inhibits cancer cell growth.The combinatory treatment approach entailing the AuNRs-based drug carrier system exhibited encouraging antitumor efficacy.