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Radiation therapy and phototherapy are commonly used cancer treatments that offer advantages such as a low risk of adverse effects and the ability to target cancer cells while sparing healthy tissue. A promising strategy for cancer treatment involves using nanoparticles (NPs) in combination with radiation and photothermal therapy to target cancer cells and improve treatment efficacy. The synthesis of gold NPs (AuNPs) for use in biomedical applications has traditionally involved toxic reducing agents. Here we harnessed dopamine (DA)-conjugated alginate (Alg) for the facile and green synthesis of Au NPs (Au@Alg-DA NPs). Alg-DA conjugate reduced Au ions, simultaneously stabilized the resulting AuNPs, and prevented aggregation, resulting in particles with a narrow size distribution and improved stability. Injectable Au@Alg-DA NPs significantly promoted ROS generation in 4T1 breast cancer cells when exposed to X-rays. In addition, their administration raised the temperature under a light excitation of 808 nm, thus helping to destroy cancer cells more effectively. Importantly, no substantial cytotoxicity was detected in our Au@Alg-DA NPs. Taken together, our work provides a promising route to obtain an injectable combined radio enhancer and photothermally active nanosystem for further potential clinic translation., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

To solve the traditional radiotherapy obstacles, and also to enhance the radiation therapy efficacy various radiosensitizers have been developed. Radiosensitizers are promising agents that under X-ray irradiation enhance injury to tumor tissue by accelerating DNA damage. In this report, silver-silver sulfide nanoparticles (Ag-Ag 2 S NPs) were synthesized via a facile, one-pot and environmentally friendly biomineralization method. Ag-Ag 2 S was coated with bovine serum albumin (BSA) in situ and applied as an X-ray sensitizer to enhance the efficiency of radiotherapy. Also, folic acid (FA) was conjugated to Ag-Ag 2 S@BSA to impart active targeting capability to the final formulation (Ag-Ag 2 S@BSA-FA). Prepared NPs were characterized by transmission electron microscopes (TEM), scanning electron microscope (SEM), dynamic light scattering (DLS), ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy (UV-Vis), X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) techniques. Results show that most of the NPs have well-defined uniform Janus structures. The biocompatibility of the NPs was then evaluated both in vitro and in vivo. A series of in vitro assays were performed on 4T1 cancer cells to evaluate the therapeutic efficacy of the designed NPs. In addition, the radio-enhancing ability of the NPs was tested on the 4T1 breast cancer murine model. MTT, live and dead cell staining, apoptosis, ROS generation, and clonogenic in vitro assays demonstrated the efficacy of NPs as radiosensitizers in radiotherapy. In vivo results as well as H&E staining tumor tissues confirmed tumor destruction in the group that received Ag-Ag 2 S@BSA-FA NPs and exposed to X-ray. The results showed that prepared tumor-targeted Ag-Ag 2 S@BSA-FA NPs could be potential candidates as radiosensitizers for enhanced radiotherapy., (© 2023. Springer Nature Limited.)