Biomimetic graphene oxide quantum dots nanoparticles targeted photothermal-chemotherapy for gastric cancer

Direct use of chemotherapy drugs in the treatment of gastric cancer often leads to systemic side effects and unsatisfied therapeutic efficacy due to the lack of tumour-targeting ability. The excellent properties of nanoparticles make them good tools to provide more options for the targeted delivery of chemotherapeutic drugs. Herein, we developed a novel nanomedicine (GOQD-ICG-CS-6@HM nanoparticles, GIC@HM NPs), which employed graphene oxide quantum dots (GOQDs) to co-load photosensitizer indocyanine green (ICG) and chemotherapeutic drug gamabufotalin (CS-6) as the core and wrapped with the hybrid membrane (erythrocyte membrane and gastric cancer cell membrane, HM) on its surface. This nanomedicine possesses the functions of photothermal therapy and chemotherapy, making it a good choice for the treatment of gastric cancer. The results showed that the bionic-coated hybrid membrane not only improves the biocompatibility of the nanomedicine, and prolong its circulating half-life, but also delivers the drug to the tumour site precisely and improves the efficiency of drug utilisation. In vitro and in vivo studies further showed that GIC@HM NPs exhibited combinational effects on tumour therapy while displaying no obvious side effects on normal tissue. To sum up, the newly developed GIC@HM NPs provide a safer, more efficient, and more precise method for gastric cancer treatment.