A novel multi stimuli-responsive PEGylated hybrid gold/nanogels for co-delivery of doxorubicin and 6‑mercaptopurine.

The clinical applications of anticancer drugs are restricted due to the incomplete delivery to the cancerous tissue and the numerous drug resistance mechanisms involved in malignant cells. In this regard, stimuli-responsive nanomaterials offer a promising prospect to deal with these concerns. In the present study, ternary responsive hybrid gold/nanogels (Au/NGs) were synthesized as a new nanoplatform to simultaneously carry two anticancer drugs, i.e., doxorubicin (DOX) and 6-mercaptopurine (MP). For this purpose, these drugs were successfully loaded (the loading capacity of 23% and 11%, respectively) into the hybrid Au/NGs by electrostatic interaction (DOX) and AuS bonds (MP). The triggered drug release ability of hybrid Au/NGs was assessed by comparing the environments of simulated physiological and tumor tissue. The incorporation of disulfide bond linkers, pH sensitive, and thermosensitive polymeric segments endowed the NGs with an excellent property in reducing acidic and hyperthermia environments, which greatly facilitates drug release in tumor cells. Intracellular tracking of DOX@MP-Au/NGs confirmed efficient accumulation and cellular uptake of developed NGs and the cytotoxicity studies showed a pronounced tumor inhibition compared with free DOX@MP. It was concluded that the new ternary-responsive NGs have great potential for co-delivery of DOX and MP and can be used in efficient cancer therapy.