Preparation and characterization of doxorubicin functionalized tiopronin-capped gold nanorods for cancer therapy

Abstract

Gold nanomaterials are immerging candidates in medical diagnosis and treatment. Among them, gold nanorods (Au NRs) are widely used for cancer treatment. Tiopronin as a novel thiol drug was used to stabilize Au NRs in this work. Doxorubicin (DOX), a chemotherapeutic drug which works by interacting with DNA to arrest the cell cycle and induce apoptosis, was linked to Au NRs through electrostatic reaction with tiopronin, to obtain Au-TIOP-DOX NRs. Au NRs are also regarded as hyperthermia agents for photothermal cancer treatment. This delivery system (Au-TIOP-DOX NRs) was designed for passively targeting tumor cells in cancer therapy. More importantly, the carboxyl groups of tiopronin can be modified with some biological molecules (DNA/RNA, peptides, or drugs) to make Au NRs as a novel drug-delivery system for cancer treatment. © 2013 The Author(s).