ZnO QD covalently coated, GSH/pH dual-responsive drug delivery system for chemotherapeutic/ionic synergistic therapy

Chemotherapeutical agents have been frequently reported to have adverse side effects which reduce their application in clinic. Herein, we reported a mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs)-based drug delivery system (DDS) capped with zinc oxide quantum dots (ZnO QD) which has glutathione (GSH)/pH dual-responsive controlled release in the cancer cells. The drug loaded DDS have higher cellular inhibition than the free drug because of the synergistic effect of payload DNM and the Zn 2+ dissolved from ZnO QD. The anti-cancer mechanism research indicates that the designed drug loaded DDS can cause mitochondrial damage, arrest the cell cycle and induce the cell apoptosis and autophagy. The combination of excellent biocompatibility , selective release performance, synergistic cellular cytotoxicity, endowed the DDS with the potential of utilization in cancer treatment.