Gold cluster encapsulated liposomes: theranostic agent with stimulus triggered release capability

Cancer is a major cause of death worldwide. Cancer-resistant to chemo or radiotherapy treatment is a challenge that could be overcome by a nanotechnology approach. Providing a theranostic nano-platform for different cancer treatment strategies could be revolutionary. Here we introduce a multifunctional theranostic nanostructure which has the capacity for improving cancer diagnosis and treatment through better chemo and radiotherapy and current x-ray imaging systems through co-encapsulation of a small gold cluster and anticancer drug doxorubicin. 2 nm gold clusters represent good heating under radio frequency electric field (RF-EF) exposure and have been used for in vitro hyperthermia treatment of cancerous cells. Liposomal doxorubicin (169 +/- 19.8 nm) with gold clusters encapsulation efficiency of 13.2 +/- 3.0% and doxorubicin encapsulation efficiency of 64.7 +/- 0.7% were prepared and studied as a theranostic agent with a high potential in different cancer treatment modalities. Exposure to a radiofrequency electric field on prepared formulation caused 20.2 +/- 2.1% drug release and twice decreasing of IC50 on colorectal carcinoma cells. X-ray attenuation efficiency of the liposomal gold cluster was better than commercial iohexol and free gold clusters in different concentrations. Finally, treatment of gold clusters on cancerous cells results in a significant decrease in the viability of irradiated cells to cobalt-60 beam. Based on these experiments, we concluded that the conventional liposomal formulation of doxorubicin that has been co-encapsulated with small gold clusters could be a suitable theranostic nanostructure for cancer treatment and merits further investigation.

Automated summary

Cancer is a leading cause of death worldwide, and overcoming drug resistance in cancer treatment is a challenge. This study introduces a multifunctional theranostic nanostructure that improves cancer diagnosis and treatment through the co-encapsulation of small gold clusters and the anticancer drug doxorubicin. The results show that this nanostructure enhances the effect of radiotherapy and reduces the viability of cancer cells. Further investigation is warranted to explore its potential in cancer treatment.