Tunable Design of Gold(III)–Doxorubicin Complex–PEGylated Nanocarrier. The Golden Doxorubicin for Oncological Applications

To date, the translation of Au (III) complexes into chemotherapeutic agents has been hindered by their low stability under physiological conditions, a crucial parameter in drug development. In this study, we report an innovative four-step synthesis of a stable Au (III)–doxorubicin (DOX) complex, acting as a key constitutive component of doxorubicin-loaded PEG-coated nanoparticles (DOX IN–PEG–AuNPs). For therapeutic purposes, such AuNPs were then functionalized with the anti-Kv11.1 polyclonal antibody (pAb), which specifically recognizes the hERG1 channel that is overexpressed on the membrane of human pancreatic cancer cells. The nature of the interactions between DOX and Au (III) ions was probed by various analytical techniques (Raman spectroscopy, UV–vis, and 1H NMR), which enabled studying the Au (III)–DOX interactions during AuNPs formation. The theoretical characterization of the vibrational bands and the electronic transitions of the Au (III)–DOX complex calculated through computational studies showe...