A redox-responsive drug delivery system based on RGD containing peptide-capped mesoporous silica nanoparticles

In this paper, an intracellular glutathione (GSH) responsive mesoporous silica nanoparticle (MSN-S-S-RGD) was developed as a drug nanocarrier by immobilizing the gatekeeper (RGD containing peptide) onto MSNs using disulfide bonds. The antitumor drug, DOX was loaded onto the porous structure of the MSNs and the DOX@MSN-S-S-RGD system has been proved to be an effective nanocarrier. It was determined that most of the drug could be entrapped with only a slight leakage. After being accumulated in tumor cells via the receptor-mediated endocytosis, the surface peptide layer of DOX@MSN-S-S-RGD was removed to trigger the release of the entrapped drug to kill the tumor cell due to the cleavage of the disulfide bonds by intracellular GSH.