Stimuli‐Responsive Nanoplatforms: ZIF‐8‐Decorated Ferrocenyl Surfactant‐Based Vesicles for Synergistic Therapeutic Applications

Abstract

One of the most important issues in the design and preparation of drug delivery systems in the recent years is versatility which includes providing synergistic therapeutic effects and sustainability. This study uses a redox‐active ferrocenyl surfactant (FcN+(CH2CH3)3(CH2)10CH3, Fc(C11) where Fc is ferrocene) and pH responsive Zeolitic Imidazolate Framework‐8 (ZIF‐8) structures to form multifunctional assemblies (Fc(C11)‐AOT/Rhb@ZIF‐8/PDA) that can be used in several application including the drug delivery. The vesicles prepared using AOT‐FC(C11) constitute the core of the structure. Since the location of the ferrocene group in the molecule structure, which is next to head group, the surface of the vesicles is decorated with the ferrocene group which can act as a Fenton reaction catalyst. The polydopamine (PDA) covered ZIF‐8 are used to decorate the surface of the vesicles, creating a truly remarkable structure. The porous structure of ZIF‐8 as well as the core of the vesicles can accommodate drug molecules. With the added NIR‐responsive character upon PDA coating, this assembled structure can be used for phototermal therapy applications. The properties of this designed multifunctional and multi‐responsive system are studied at different pH and under NIR‐laser irradiation and show that it has potential to display a triple chemodynamic/ photothermal/ chemotherapeutic effect.