Near‐infrared‐active and pH‐responsive fluorescent polymer‐integrated hybrid graphene oxide nanoparticles for the detection and treatment of cancer

Hybrid nanoparticles for theragnosis have great potentiality to bring desire functionalities in one integrated system. The development of bioimaging guided photothermal therapy (PTT) is pivotal in optimizing cytotoxic cancer therapy. We report near‐infrared (NIR)‐active and pH‐responsive fluorescent, catechol‐conjugated, reduced graphene oxide (rGO)‐anchored hybrid nanoparticles that can sharply increase the photothermal heat in response to NIR exposure and exhibit pH‐dependent fluorescence emission for the detection of tumor areas without causing cell toxicity. The optoelectronic absorption property of poly(3,4‐ethylenedioxythiophene) PEDOT]:dopamine‐conjugated poly(4‐styrenesulfonate‐co‐maleic acid) D‐PSM] and 3′,4′‐dihydroxyacetophenone/boron‐dipyrromethene CCDP/BODIPY]‐quaternized polyethylene glycol grafted poly(dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate) (C/B‐PgP) present in this hybrid nanoparticles resulted in efficient photothermal conversion with pH‐tunable fluorescence that exerted sufficient photothermal cytotoxicity to cancer cells. The in vitro cellular uptake was measured by confocal laser scanning microscopy, allowing the therapeutic efficiency and bioimaging effects to be explored. We expect that the broad optical absorption property of PEDOT:D‐PSM with BODIPY‐conjugated polymers on rGO sheets would get tremendous attraction in this enormous rising PTT with cancer detectable biomarker. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2016 , 133, 43791.