Aptamer-conjugated gold nanoparticles for targeted paclitaxel delivery and photothermal therapy in breast cancer

Abstract The development of novel therapeutic approaches with high efficiency and precision like photothermal therapy (PTT) is essential to combat breast cancer. The gold nanoparticle (AuNPs) has shown critical ability both in PTT and targeted delivery. Herein, we evolved targeted PTT in a multifunctional drug delivery platform. The AuNPs were modified by poly (ethylene glycol) (PEG) to improve their biocompatibility, and the mucin1 (MUC1) aptamer-modified PEG-AuNPs were successfully prepared. The Paclitaxel (PTX)–loaded PEG-AuNPs@antiMUC1 system displayed a dual NIR/pH-dependent sustained release. The synergistic effect of PTX/PEG-AuNPs@antiMUC1 was evaluated in this research. In vitro cell cytotoxicity experiments on MUC1-positive and MUC1-negative breast cancer cells showed the desired selectivity of the prepared system towards MUC1-positive cells. The capability of the PTX/PEG-AuNPs@antiMUC1 in combination with near-infrared (NIR) irradiation in ablation of MUC1-positive cancer cells with excellent cellular uptake was also witnessed. Furthermore, simultaneous utilization of PTT and targeted drug delivery indicated a synergistic effect that increased cell death versus seldom PTT or chemotherapy. The protein expression analysis confirmed the increased expression of the apoptotic Caspase3 and declined expression of the anti-apoptotic Bcl-xL in the presence of the prepared synergistic combinational system, which showed its high potentials in cancer therapy.