Facile synthesis of degradable DOX/ICG co-loaded metal–organic frameworks for targeted drug release and thermoablation

Abstract Background Despite the increasing interest in combination therapy for the treatment of cancer, controlled delivery of different therapeutics with high body-clearance efficacy and cancer cell specificity remained a great challenge. In this study, a novel codelivery system was synthesized through one-pot coordination-driven self-assembly of 2-methylimidazole, zinc ion and chemotherapeutic drug (doxorubicin, DOX), followed by a surface decoration of photothermal agent (indocyanine green, ICG). To improve the targeting specificity performance, folic acid-conjugated polyethylene glycol (FA-PEG) antennas was connected on the surface of nanoparticles. Results The hybrid nanoparticles keep stable under neutral physiological condition but decompose when exposed to acidic environment, resulting in the on-demand release of DOX and ICG for chemo-photothermal combined therapy. Moreover, by switching the initial large size (~ 94 nm) to an ultrasmall size (∼10 nm) in cancer cells, the nanoparticles hold great potential to avoid nanotoxicity for clinical applications. Conclusions This work provides a new strategy for co-delivery of different therapeutics for combined cancer therapy with high cancer cell specificity and low nanotoxicity.