Tetrahedral DNA Nanostructure-modified Gold Nanorod-based Anticancer Nanomaterials for Combined Photothermal Therapy and Chemotherapy.

Objective: To develop an effective treatment strategy to simultaneously avoid fatal adverse effects in the treatment of oral cancer, combination therapy has been explored because of its multiple functions. This work aims to develop a novel type of gold-nanorod-based nanomaterials decorated with tetrahedral DNA nanostructures (TDN) carrying antitumor drugs, namely, GNR@TDN-DOX nanocomposites.

Methods: In the designed structure, TDN, with a three-dimensional geometry composed of DNA strands, can provide GC base pairs for binding with the anticancer drug doxorubicin (DOX).