Selective release of multiple DNA oligonucleotides from gold nanorods.

Combination therapy, or the use of multiple drugs, has been proven to be effective for complex diseases, but the differences in chemical properties and pharmacokinetics can be challenging in terms of the loading, delivering, and releasing multiple drugs. Here we demonstrate that we can load and selectively release two different DNA oligonucleotides from two different gold nanorods. DNA was loaded on the nanorods via thiol conjugation. Selective releases were induced by selective melting of gold nanorods via ultrafast laser irradiation at the nanorods' longitudinal surface plasmon resonance peaks. Excitation at one wavelength could selectively melt one type of gold nanorods and selectively release one type of DNA strand. Releases were efficient (50-80%) and externally tunable by laser fluence. Released oligonucleotides were still functional. This proof of concept is potentially a powerful method for multiple-drug delivery strategies.