Designed fabrication of a multifunctional polymer nanomedical platform for simultaneous cancer-targeted imaging and magnetically guided drug delivery

A multifunctional polymer nanomedical platform was reported for simultaneous cancer-targeted magnetic resonance (MR) or optical imaging and magnetically-guided drug delivery. The TEM images show that the size of polymer nanoparticles ranged from 100 to 200 nm, which is consistent with FE-SEM image and dynamic light scattering (DLS). It is also seen that the size of polymer nanoparticles remained nearly unchanged at 260 nm, even after the PLL-EEG-FOL coating, demonstrating the absence of any severe aggregation. The results indicate that the magnetically enhanced, cancer-targeting property of nanoparticles enable the targeting of the drug delivery vehicles to the lesion through magnetic guiding through the application of a strong external magnetic field. The results demonstrate that PLGA(QD/DOXO)-FOL could act simultaneously as an optical imaging agent and drug delivery system.