Red Blood Cell Membrane Camouflaged Mesoporous Silica Nanorods as Nanocarriers for Synergistic Chemo-Photothermal Therapy

In recent years, nanoparticles camouflaged by red blood cell membrane (RBCM) have become a potential nano-drug delivery platform due to their good biocompatibility and immune evasion capability. Here, a multifunctional drug nanocarrier based on RBCM camouflaged mesoporous silica nanorods (MSNR) is presented, which can be used in pH and near-infrared (NIR) light triggered synergistic chemo-photothermal killing of cancer cells. To fabricate such a nanocarrier, MSNR and RBCM were prepared by the sol-gel method and modified hypotonic lysis method, respectively. Drugs were loaded into the pores of MSNR. Finally, RBCM was coated on the surface of MSNR by extrusion through a polycarbonate membrane. The advantages of the nanocarrier include: 1) MSNR can induce more cellular uptake than sphere shaped mesoporous silica nanoparticles. 2) The RBCM can reduce drug leakage and prevent clearance of the nanocarriers by macrophages. 3) By simultaneous loading doxorubicin (DOX) and indocyanine green (ICG), pH and NIR triggered synergistic chemo-photothermal therapy can be realized. In the experiment, we studied the drug releasing and cellular uptake of the nanocarriers in a breast cancer cell line (SKBR3 cells), in which a sufficient killing effect was observed. Such a multifunctional drug nanocarrier holds a broad application prospect in cancer treatment.