Noncovalently Assembled Gallic Acid/Curcumin as Mesoporous Nanocarriers for Drug Delivery

Abstract

In the study, a novel mesoporous curcumin (CUR)−gallic acid (GA) self-assembled nanoparticles (CUR-GA NPs) were prepared via hydrogen bonding, π−π stacking, and hydrophobic interaction. The CUR-GA NPs and IR-820-loaded composites (CUR-GA@IR-820 NPs) have strong near-infrared (NIR) light absorption. The photothermal conversion efficiency of CUR-GA NPs and CUR-GA@IR-820 NPs can reach 24.9% and 38.6%, respectively. CUR-GA NPs can not only achieve drug release in an acidic environment but also can be a nanocarrier to load and release the DOX. The CUR-GA NPs demonstrated excellent pH-responsive drug release performance. The cumulative release of CUR-GA NPs and CUR-GA@DOX NPs can reach 70.02% (CUR), 67.22% (GA) and 67.16% (DOX), respectively. The novel CUR-GA NPs provided a reliable nanocarrier for chemotherapy and photothermal therapy.