Pluronic-chitosan-folate nano-micelles incorporated with quantum dots for anti-cancer drug therapy

Two kinds of QDs were used in this study for comparison, one is water-dispersed ZnO QD which was prepared by chemical sedimentation method, the other is commercialized water-soluble CdTe QD. The Pluronic nano-micelles containing QDs and anti-cancer drug were prepared. Then, the surface of Pluronic micelles containing QDs and anti-cancer drug were modified by folate-conjugated chitosan to obtain anti-cancer drug-loaded QD-Pluronic-Chitosan-folate nano-carriers. The results indicate the nano-carrier containing either ZnO or CdTe QD has sustained drug release behavior and good specificity to the cancer cell. The embedded CdTe QDs can effectively show the fluorescence during in vivo studies.