Single treatment often faces the problem that it cannot completely eradicate
tumor and inhibit the
tumor metastasis. In order to overcome this shortcoming, multi-modal
tumor treatment has attracted widespread attention. In the present article, based on
ascorbyl palmitate (PA) and
l-arginine (l-Arg), a multifunctional nanocarrier is designed for synergetic treatment of
tumor with photothermal and
nitric oxide (NO) gas
therapy. Firstly, PA and l-Arg were self-assembled to form novel functional
micelles, PL, with high biosafety using electrostatic interaction and hydrogen bonding. The functional
micelles could self-catalyze to produce NO at the
tumor site. Then, Ag2S
quantum dots having fluorescence imaging and photothermal properties were encapsulated to obtain the nanocarrier, A@PL. The results show that A@PL had a hydrated size of around 78 nm and presented good stability within 30 d. Moreover, in vitro studies indicate that it was efficient with regards to NO self-generating capacity, whereas the photothermal conversion efficiency was as high as 34% under near-infrared light irradiation. The cytotoxicity results show that, when the concentration of A@PL was as high as 2 mM, the survival rate of 3 T3 cells was still 78.23%, proving that the probe has good safety characteristics. Fluorescence imaging results show that its maximum enrichment can be achieved at the
tumor site after tail vein injection for 3 h, and out of the body after 24 h, indicating good internal circulation. The in vivo studies show that the rate of inhibition of
tumor using the nanocarrier was as high as 98%, and almost overcame the problem of
tumor recurrence caused by single treatment, thus presenting a significant
tumor treatment effect. This new multifunctional nanocarrier with self-catalytic production of NO provides a new idea for the efficient treatment of
tumors.