Bi-segmental Au/Ni nanorods immobilized with doxorubicin and folate in a spatially controlled manner were fabricated for potential nanomedicine applications. Template-based electrodeposition was used to fabricate the multi-segmented rod-shaped nanostructures 100 nm in diameter and 1-2 mu m in length. Thiolated Pluronic was immobilized on the gold surface to take advantage of its sol-gel transition to enhance the entrapment of doxorubicin on the nanorods. The ratio of doxorubicin to folate can be precisely controlled by varying the length of their respective segments. Doxorubicin-incorporated nanorods showed reversible release-association behavior of doxorubicin according to temperature change, and the degree of thermo-responsiveness was dependent on the length of the gold segments. A549 cells incubated with the doxorubicin nanorods at 4 degrees C for 2 h showed increased localization of doxorubicin in the cytoplasm compared to non-treated groups; higher potency was also observed compared to doxorubicin-treated or non-treated groups. Folate targeting effect was demonstrated in the significantly increased endocytic uptake of nanorods by the folate receptor overexpressing KB cells. The versatility of fabricating these multi-segmented nanorods by electrodeposition may open up interesting possibilities of designing multi-functional nanocarriers for diverse drug delivery applications. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.