The impact of encapsulating gemcitabine (GEM) into nanoparticles on its delivery remains underexplored, with the potential benefits of targeted drug delivery and stimuli-responsive release yet to be fully clarified. Herein, we designed a near-infrared (NIR) light-responsive polymeric nanoparticle, ZnPc@P(PEG-CMA-TKGEM), which integrates reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation and cell imaging capabilities. The self-assembled polymeric micelles exhibit a hydrodynamic size of ~134 nm. Under NIR irradiation, the cumulative drug release rate reaches 51% within 48 h, which is three times higher than that of the non-irradiated control group. In cytotoxicity assays, the cell viability of the NIR-irradiated drug-loaded group is approximately 17%, while that of the NIR-irradiated blank group (without drug loading) remains above 80%. These results confirm that the nanocarriers successfully deliver GEM to target cells and achieve controlled drug release via NIR stimulation.
Zhang et al. (2025) studied this question.