Glutathione-mediated mesoporous carbon as a drug delivery nanocarrier with carbon dots as a cap and fluorescent tracer

This work describes a novel and general redox-responsive controlled drug delivery-release nanocarrier with mesoporous carbon nanoparticles (MCNs) gated by customized fluorescent carbon dots (CDs). The modification of MCNs with a disulfide unit enables the system to be sensitive to intracellular glutathione (GSH). The CDs anchoring onto the surface of the MCNs via an electrostatic interaction block the mesopores and thus prevent the leakage of doxorubicin (DOX) loaded inside the channel of the MCNs. Upon the addition of GSH at the physiological environment, the integrity of the system is disrupted due to the dissociation of the disulfide bond; meanwhile stripping the CDs opens the gate and thus triggers the rapid release of the encapsulated DOX. The fluorescence of the CDs is quenched/'turned off' when linking to the MCNs, while it is restored/'turned on' when detaching the CDs from the surface of the MCNs. Thus the fluorescent CDs serve as both a controllable drug release gatekeeper and a fluorescent probe for the visualization of the drug delivery process. By combining these inherent capabilities, the present drug delivery system may be a promising route for designing custom-made visual controlled-release nanodevices specifically governed by in situ stimulus in the cells. (paper)