Fast and selective cancer cell uptake of therapeutic gold nanorods by surface modifications with phosphorylcholine and Tat

Dual functionalization of gold nanorods (GNRs) with two kinds of surface ligands has been achieved. Phosphorylcholine (PC) could impart the GNRs with both biostability in the physiological environment and targetability towards cancer cells uniquely. On the other hand, the protein transduction domain of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 Tat peptide could induce the GNRs to be quickly internalized through cell membranes. The inductively coupled plasma mass spectroscopy (ICP-MS), TEM and UV-Vis assays all demonstrated that such dual-ligand GNRs exhibited both fast and selective cancer cell uptake advantages, which were utilized for more efficient cancer cell ablation under near-infrared (NIR) irradiation. This mode of the multivalent scaffold offers an optimized choice for future cell-based therapies.