Fabrication of polydopamine-based layer-by-layer nanocomposites for combined pH-sensitive chemotherapy and photothermal therapy

The combined therapeutic strategy have aroused significant interest in cancer therapy due to its enhanced treatment efficacy and reduced side effects. This paper describes the combined chemo- and photothermal therapy of cancer based on PDA@(PDDA-ADA) 3-Dox nanocomposites. Polydopamine (PDA) serves not only as photothermal agent with strong near infrared absorbance and high energy conversion efficiency, but also as a core material to carry multilayer films formed by alternatively deposition of positively charged poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride) (PDDA) and negatively charged alginate dialdehyde (ADA) through layer-by-layer (LBL) method. Doxorubicin hydrochloride (Dox) was loaded to the PDA@(PDDA-ADA) 3 nanoplatform via Schiff base bond and electrostatic interaction. The fabricated PDA@(PDDA-ADA)(3)-Dox nanocomposites exhibit outstanding pH-sensitive drug release, good biocompatibility and high photothermal conversion efficiency. These features make them achieve excellent anticancer therapeutic efficacy by combined chemo- and photothermal therapy. This work points that the PDA-based nanoplatform can be a universal scaffold for cancer treatment.