Stimuli-responsive nanocarriers offer favorable properties for the target-specific delivery of drugs. Herein, we employed photoirradiation as an external stimulus for the construction of a molecular system that encapsulated small molecules, which were released upon photoirradiation. These nanocarriers consisted of DNA amphiphiles (ODAz 1), in which an oligodeoxynucleotide and an alkyl chain were employed as the hydrophilic and hydrophobic parts, respectively, and these two parts were linked by a photochromic azobenzene unit. In aqueous solutions, ODAz 1 formed nanosized aggregates that encapsulated hydrophobic molecules in their hydrophobic core. Photoirradiation induced isomerization of the azobenzene unit led to changes in aggregate size and the immediate release of the molecules. The aggregate smoothly penetrated the cell membrane, and the photochemical release and delivery of small molecules into living cells were achieved. Thus, ODAz 1 aggregates represent promising photosensitive nanocarriers that may be applicable to drug delivery and targeting.

刺激响应性纳米载体为药物的靶标特异性递送提供了有利的特性。在本文中，我们采用光辐照作为外部刺激来构建封装小分子的分子系统，这些分子在光辐照后释放。这些纳米载体由DNA两亲物（ODAz 1）组成，其中寡聚脱氧核苷酸和烷基链分别用作亲水和疏水部分，并且这两个部分通过光致变色偶氮苯单元连接。在水溶液中，ODAz 1形成纳米级聚集体，将疏水性分子包裹在其疏水性核中。光辐照引起的偶氮苯单元异构化导致聚集体大小的改变和分子的立即释放。聚集体顺利穿透细胞膜，并实现了小分子的光化学释放和传递到活细胞中。因此，ODAz 1聚集体代表了有希望的光敏纳米载体，可应用于药物输送和靶向。