Applications of Gold Nanoparticle-Loaded Thermosensitive Elastin-Mimetic Dendrimer to Photothermal Therapy

Abstract

Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) have photo-induced heat-generating properties, which can be applied to photothermal therapy. Dendrimers are synthetic macromolecules with a unique structure, and work as nanotemplates in the preparation of AuNPs, as well as potent vehicles. Previously, PEGylated dendrimer (PEG-den) has been used as a vehicle of AuNP. Thermosensitive elastin-mimetic dendrimers were previously prepared as a biocompatible thermosensitive nanoparticle by conjugating elastin-like peptides (ELPs) with valine-proline-glycine-valine-glycine (VPGVG) repeats to dendrimers. In this study, elastin-mimetic dendrimer (ELP-den) was used as a thermosensitive vehicle of AuNP. The AuNP-loaded ELP-den exhibited both photothermal and thermosensitive properties. AuNP-loaded ELP-den readily associated with cells and induced efficient photocytotoxicity, but the AuNP-loaded PEG-den did not. This suggests that ELP-den is a potent carrier of AuNPs for photothermal therapy.