AUTHOR=Zhang Zhang , Gao An , Sun Chunyang 

TITLE=Tumor pH-Responsive Nanocarriers With Light-Activatable Drug Release for Chemo-Photodynamic Therapy of Breast Cancer

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Chemistry

VOLUME=10

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/chemistry/articles/10.3389/fchem.2022.905645

DOI=10.3389/fchem.2022.905645

ISSN=2296-2646

ABSTRACT=<p>Developing bioresponsive nanocarriers with particular tumor cell targeting and on-demand payload release has remained a great challenge for combined chemo-photodynamic therapy (chemo-PDT). In this study, an intelligent nanocarrier (<sup>DA</sup>TAT-NP<sub>Ce6</sub>) responded to hierarchical endogenous tumor pH, and an exogenous red light was developed through a simple mixed micelle approach. The outside TAT ligand was masked to prevent an unexpected interaction in blood circulation. Following the accumulation of <sup>DA</sup>TAT-NP<sub>Ce6</sub> in tumor tissues, tumor acidity at pH ∼6.5 recovered its targeting ability <italic>via</italic> triggering DA moiety degradation. Furthermore, the cascaded chemo-PDT was accomplished through light-stimulated nanocarrier disassembly and doxorubicin (DOX) release. Taking advantage of stability and controllability, this work provides a facile approach to designing bioresponsive nanocarriers and represents a proof-of-concept combinatorial chemo-PDT treatment.</p>