An efficient and self-guided chemo-photothermal drug loading system based on copolymer and transferrin decorated MoS 2 nanodots for dually controlled drug release

Abstract The clinical applications of a large variety of inorganic nanomaterials have been severely limited by their long-term retention with potential toxicity in the body. Herein, we develop a self-guided photothermal nanocarrier based on MoS 2 nanodots (MoS 2 NDs) modified with copolymer P(OEGA- co -VBA) and targeting ligands of transferrin (Tf). The copolymer P(OEGA- co -VBA) is synthesized via RAFT polymerization and not only utilized to improve the biocompatibility of MoS 2 NDs, but also efficiently load the drug doxorubicin (DOX) via acid-cleavable Schiff base bonds. Besides, thiol functionalized transferrin (Tf-SH) is anchored onto the surface of MoS 2 NDs via the formation of disulfide bonds, which could further enhance the cellular engulfed of MoS 2 NDs nanocarrier to HepG2 cells. The as-prepared nanocarrier is stable in physiological condition while quickly release drug upon the synergistic trigger of acidic pH and glutathione (GSH). Moreover, the modified MoS 2 (DOX-POV-MoS 2 -Tf) nanoagents shows better therapeutic effect probably attributed to the synergistic effects of targeted uptake, pH, GSH and NIR induced localized heating, which suggest the designed MoS 2 nanocarrier is promising for applications in multi-modal biomedical therapy.