In recent years, the interest in nanoscale materials for theranostic applications, for instance against cancer, has increased. In this direction, multifunctional hybrid nanostructures with improved bioperformance in real scenarios are required. The combination of plasmonic nanoparticles such as gold nanoparticles with metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) offers unique opportunities for the development of nanoplatforms with theranostic potential thanks to the versatile drug encapsulation properties of metal–organic frameworks<i>, </i>such as well-defined pore aperture, tunable pore size, and tailorable composition and structure. Here, we present a hybrid nanostructure based on zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 growth around pre-stabilized gold nanorods (ZIF-8@AuNR). Surface functionalization of the composites is required to make them stable in aqueous medium as well as cell culture medium for bioapplications. Complementary techniques such as UV-Vis spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and dynamic laser-light scattering (DLS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) are performed in order to characterize the physicochemical properties of the composites and the colloidal stability under different conditions. Moreover, to evaluate their potential as a drug delivery nanoplatform, the encapsulation of several drugs and the subsequent photothermal-driven release have been investigated.

Photothermal-driven drug-delivery nanoplatform based on plasmonic zeolitic imidazolate frameworks

256th National Meeting (2018)

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