Transformable liquid-metal nanomedicine

To date, numerous inorganic nanocarriers have been explored for drug delivery systems (DDSs). However, the clinical application of inorganic formulations has often been hindered by their toxicity and failure to biodegrade. We describe here a transformable liquid-metal nanomedicine, based on a core-shell nanosphere composed of a liquid-phase eutectic gallium-indium core and a thiolated polymeric shell. This formulation can be simply produced through a sonication-mediated method with bioconjugation flexibility. The resulting nanoparticles loaded with doxorubicin (Dox) have an average diameter of 107 nm and demonstrate the capability to fuse and subsequently degrade under a mildly acidic condition, which…

• NS
  National Science Foundation

  Awards: 1121107, DMR-1121107, 0954321, 1UL1TR001111, CAREER
• NC
  North Carolina State University

  Award: 1UL1TR001111
• GC
  Georgia Clinical and Translational Science Alliance
• NI
  National Institutes of Health

  Awards: 1UL1TR001111, DMR-1121107
• UO
  University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

  Award: 1UL1TR001111
• MR
  Materials Research Science and Engineering Center, Harvard University

  Award: DMR-1121107
• DO
  Division of Materials Research

  Awards: DMR-1121107, 1121107
• DO
  Division of Civil, Mechanical and Manufacturing Innovation

  Awards: 0954321, CMMI-0954321, CAREER
• NC
  North Carolina Translational and Clinical Sciences Institute, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

  Award: 1UL1TR001111