Multifunctional mesoporous silica nanoparticles as efficient transporters of doxorubicin and chlorin e6 for chemo-photodynamic combinatorial cancer therapy.

A multimodal nanocarrier based on mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) is developed to co-delivery photosensitizer chlorin e6 (Ce6) and chemotherapeutic agent doxorubicin (Dox) for cancer combination therapy. Ce6 was covalently conjugated with mesoporous silica nanoparticles, which could increase the loading efficiency, and allowed for photodynamic therapy. Doxorubicin was loaded into the pores of mesoporous silica nanoparticles to afford the dual drug delivery system Dox@MSNs-Ce6. These hybrid nanoparticles have an average diameter of about 100 nm and slightly negative charge of about -17 mV. The Dox@MSNs-Ce6 nanoparticles could efficiently enter into cancer cells. The cellular reactive oxygen species level in treated cells increased about 17 times, upon 660 nm light irradiation (10 mW/cm2, 2 min). More importantly, Dox@MSNs-Ce6 exhibited excellent synergistic effect through combining chemotherapy and photodynamic therapy against A549 lung cancer cells. Our work provides an effective strategy for anticancer drug delivery and combination therapy.