Nanodrug delivery system constructed with dopamine-based functional molecules for efficient targeting of tumour cells.

In order to enhance the water solubility of chemotherapeutic drugs, improve their biodistribution and narrow therapeutic window, two molecules of PDAO and FA-DAO with acid-sensitive Schiff base structure were designed and synthesized based on dopamine linolenate (DAO) in this paper, and subsequently drug-loaded nanoparticles were prepared by simply mixing of them with curcumin (Cur) in aqueous solution. These nanoparticles can release a large amount of the drug in response to pH changes in the tumor microenvironment through passive targeting. The cumulative rate of drug release can reach up to 70% within 24 hours under pH = 5.