Zn-MOF Nanoplatform for Dual-Responsive Curcumin Delivery and Targeted Chemo-Photothermal Therapy

Combining chemotherapy with photothermal therapy (PTT) offers a promising strategy to enhance cancer treatment efficacy while minimising systemic toxicity. This study presents the development of a curcumin (CUR) loaded, folic acid (FA) functionalised, polydopamine (PDA) coated ZIF-7 nanoplatform (CUR-Z7@FA-PDA nanoplatform) for targeted chemo-photothermal therapy. CUR was efficiently encapsulated into ZIF-7 with a loading capacity of 41.41%. CUR-Z7@FA-PDA nanoplatform exhibited pH- and NIR-responsive release behaviour, with laser irradiation (808 nm, 0.5 W/cm²) significantly enhancing drug release. CUR-Z7@FA-PDA nanoplatform demonstrated excellent photothermal performance, reaching a temperature increase of 28 °C and photothermal conversion efficiency (PCE) of 32.15%. In vitro studies against MCF-7 breast cancer cells showed enhanced therapeutic efficacy, reducing cell viability to 27.69±2.2% without irradiation and to 15.59±3.1% under NIR exposure. Annexin V/PI flow cytometry indicated a substantial increase in the apoptotic cell population following treatment, suggesting apoptosis as a major contributor to the observed cell death, with the apoptotic cell population increasing to 42.4% post-treatment. The formulation exhibited good biocompatibility in L929 fibroblast cells, maintaining 75.15% viability at 100 µg/mL. Overall, CUR-Z7@FA-PDA nanoplatform offers a promising multifunctional platform for synergistic, targeted cancer therapy by integrating controlled drug delivery, photothermal conversion, and receptor-mediated cellular uptake.