Doxorubicin-Loaded Single Wall Nanotube Thermo-Sensitive Hydrogel for Gastric Cancer Chemo-Photothermal Therapy

Single wall carbon nanotube (SWNT) based thermo-sensitive hydrogel (SWNT-GEL) is reported, which provides an injectable drug delivery system as well as a medium for photothermal transduction. SWNT-hydrogel alone appears to be nontoxic on gastric cancer cells (BGC-823 cell line) but leads to cell death with NIR radiation through a hyperthermia proapoptosis mechanism. By incorporating hyperthermia therapy and controlled in situ doxorubicin (DOX) release, DOX-loaded SWNT-hydrogel with NIR radiation proves higher tumor suppression rate on mice xenograft gastric tumor models compared to free DOX without detectable organ toxicity. The developed system demonstrates improved efficacy of chemotherapeutic drugs which overcomes systemic adverse reactions and presents immense potential for gastric cancer treatment.