J-Aggregate-Based FRET Monitoring of Drug Release from Polymer Nanoparticles with High Drug Loading

Understanding drug-release kinetics is critical for the development of drug-loaded nanoparticles. We developed a J-aggregate-based Förster-resonance energy-transfer (FRET) method to investigate the release of novel high-drug-loading (50 wt %) nanoparticles in comparison with low-drug-loading (0.5 wt %) nanoparticles. Single-dye-loaded nanoparticles form J-aggregates because of the high dye-loading (50 wt %), resulting in a large red-shift (≈110 nm) in the fluorescence spectrum. Dual-dye-loaded nanoparticles with high dye-loading using FRET pairs exhibited not only FRET but also a J-aggregate red-shift (116 nm). Using this J-aggregate-based FRET method, dye-core-polymer-shell nanoparticles showed two release processes intracellularly: the dissolution of the dye aggregates into dye molecules and the release of the dye molecules from the polymer shell. Also, the high-dye-loading nanoparticles (50 wt %) exhibited a slow release kinetics in serum and relatively quick release in cells, demonstrating their great potential in drug delivery.