Preparation of core/shell CdTe@hMSN for enhanced tumor vasculature-specific drug delivery

Due to excellent optical properties, CdTe quantum dots (QDs) exhibit great potential in cancer imaging. However, CdTe QDs can be quickly cleared out before reaching the desired location because of their ultra-small size. The structure and optical properties of CdTe QDs are also easily affected by the surrounding solution, which leads to their compromised applications in vivo. Here, CdTe QDs were incorporated into hollow mesoporous silica nanoparticles (hMSN) to form CdTe@hMSN nano-platforms. The as-synthesized system maintained the excellent emission properties of CdTe QDs; meanwhile, relatively high drug loading efficiency was also observed for doxorubicin (DOX). With the target for vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), the formed CdTe@hMSN(DOX)–VEGF Abs showed feasibility of tumor-oriented drug delivery and CdTe@hMSN conjugate accumulation. The high accumulation and enhanced targeted drug delivery of CdTe@hMSN conjugates in tumor nodules confirmed that CdTe@hMSN conjugates can serve as promising candidates for cancer detection and treatment.