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Glucose is used as an important nutrient to support cell growth. The glucose oxidase (GOx) can transform glucose into gluconic acid and toxic H 2 O 2 , which can be used for tumor starvation therapy. However, the leakage of GOx may cause severe side effects to the normal tissue. To prevent the accidental leakage of GOx, this study proposes the chemical modification of GOx on the photothermal transducing agent surface, to realize the safe and combined starvation and photothermal therapy of colorectal tumors. Polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP)-modified WS 2 nanobowls (WS 2 -PVP) as a photothermal transducing agent were produced using a one-pot preparation method. Then, α-lipoic acid (LA) molecules were immobilized at the sulfur-deficient sites on the surface of WS 2 nanobowls to afford the chemical loading of GOx through amide bonds. Under the irradiation of a near-infrared laser (808 nm), thermal energy is generated by WS 2 to kill colorectal cancer cells locally. The photothermal conversion efficiency of WS 2 -PVP-LA was 27.2%. This study is anticipated to open up an alternative avenue for the rational design of multifunctional nanotherapeutics for tumor therapy., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Photothermal therapy (PTT) is a promising approach for treating cancer. However, it suffers from the formation of local lesions and subsequent bacterial infection in the damaged area. To overcome these challenges, the strategy of mild PTT following the high-temperature ablation of tumors is studied to achieve combined tumor suppression, wound healing, and bacterial eradication using a hydrogel. Herein, Bi 2 S 3 nanorods (NRs) are employed as a photothermal agent and coated with hyaluronic acid to obtain BiH NRs with high colloidal stability. These NRs and allantoin are loaded into an injectable Fe 3+ -coordinated hydrogel composed of sodium alginate (Alg) and Farsi gum (FG), which is extracted from Amygdalus scoparia Spach. The hydrogel can be used for localized cancer therapy by high-temperature PTT, followed by wound repair through the combination of mild hyperthermia and allantoin-mediated induction of cell proliferation. In addition, an outstanding blood clotting effect is observed due to the water-absorbing ability and negative charge of FG and Alg as well as the porous structure of hydrogels. The hydrogels also eradicate infection owing to the local heat generation and intrinsic antimicrobial activity of the NRs. Lastly, in vivo studies reveal an efficient photothermal-based tumor eradication and accelerated wound healing by the hydrogel.

In this study, a polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP)-decorated MoSe 2 (MoSe 2 -PVP) nanoparticle with excellent photothermal transforming ability and chlorin E6 (Ce6) loading capacity is designed for combined tumor photothermal therapy (PTT), tumor photodynamic therapy (PDT), and immunotherapy. The light-to-heat conversion efficiency under irradiation with an 808 nm near-infrared laser is as high as 59.28%. The MoSe 2 -PVP NPs could function as an artificial catalase and catalyze the decomposition of H 2 O 2 . Their catalytic activity and thermal durability are higher than the native catalase, which relieve the tumor hypoxia status and sensitize the tumor PDT. The data show that the synthetic MoSe 2 -PVP is biodegradable, owing to the oxidation of the Mo 4+ to Mo 6+ . Moreover, its degradation products could increase the proportion of mature dendritic cells and CD8 + thymus (T) cells and promote the infiltration of active CD8 + T cells in tumors. The immune checkpoint inhibitor, programmed cell death protein 1 monoclonal antibody is combined with MoSe 2 -PVP and it is found that its degradation product could efficiently change the immune microenvironment of the tumor., (© 2022 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

In this research, a hydrogel that combined the tumor photodynamic therapy (PDT) and photothermal therapy (PTT) ability was designed, using dopamine-modified sodium carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC-DA) as the matrix and Chlorin e6 (Ce6) as the photosensitizer. The gel formation was initiated by adding the oxidizing agent sodium periodate (NaIO 4 ) to the CMC-DA solution, during which the dopamine was simultaneously oxidized to polydopamine (PDA) and NaIO 4 was reduced to sodium iodide (NaI). The formed NaI was encapsulated in the hydrogel and endowed the hydrogel with computerized tomography (CT) imaging ability to monitor the hydrogel degradation and the tumor therapy process. Moreover, the photosensitizer Ce6 can be loaded by the gel system via directly soaking the hydrogel in the Ce6 solution. Under the near-infrared light irradiation, Ce6 can produce cytotoxic reactive oxygen species and the PDA can produce heat to trigger the tumor PDT and PTT respectively to eradicate the tumor recurrence. In general, the designed hydrogel is biocompatible and biodegradable, has a good photothermal conversion, drug loading and CT imaging ability, which laid the foundation for the rational design of biodegradable hydrogels for multifunctional applications., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

In this research, MnO 2 /IrO 2 nanoplatform was one-step synthesized from the heat-induced oxidation-reduction between potassium permanganate and iridium chloride and modified with polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) on the surface to obtain MnO 2 /IrO 2 -PVP nanoparticles (MIP NPs) with excellent colloidal stability of biocompatibility. Then, the photosensitizer Chlorin e6 (Ce6) was loaded onto the surface of MIP NPs. The IrO 2 can efficiently transform the 808 nm near-infrared laser into heat with a photothermal conversion of 27.57 % for tumor photothermal therapy. Interestingly, the MnO 2 can not only react with the redundant H + and realize the magnetic resonance imaging of the tumor but also catalytic the decomposition of H 2 O 2 in the tumor to generate O 2 and relieve the hypoxia status of the tumor. The in-situ formed O 2 can promote the production of cancer cell-toxic singlet oxygens ( 1 O 2 ) under the irradiation of 660 nm laser and boost the tumor photodynamic therapy efficiency. Moreover, it was found that PVP can fall off from the MIP NPs to increase their accumulation in the tumor. Such a MIP/Ce6-based nanoplatform which plays the synergism with tumor microenvironment shows promising potential for the combined photo-therapy of the tumor., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Radiotherapy (RT) is becoming a pervasive therapeutic pattern in clinical cancer therapy. However, the hypoxic microenvironment of tumors has a strong resistance to radiotherapy and could lead to a potential recurrence and metastasis after the treatment. Therefore, the use of synergistic strategies for improving and supplementing the RT efficiency is important. Herein, a novel Bi 2 S 3 /alginate (ALG) hydrogel containing tirapazamine (TPZ) was designed for the effective suppression of tumor recurrence, by introducing Bi 3+ into the ALG, Na 2 S and TPZ solution. In this formulation, Bi 3+ was used to crosslink with the ALG to form the hydrogel and react with S 2- to simultaneously form Bi 2 S 3 nanoparticles in the hydrogel matrix. The resulting Bi 2 S 3 nanoparticles not only exhibit the superb radiosensitization effect to boost the effective eradication of tumors during RT but also manifest an excellent photothermal transforming performance for tumor hyperthermia and computed tomography (CT) imaging capacity for tumor monitoring. Furthermore, the RT caused hypoxia could activate the reductive prodrug TPZ and enhance its therapeutic efficiency. The reported hydrogel system provides an efficient and safe therapeutic strategy for current local tumor therapy., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Owing to the hypoxia status of the tumor, the reactive oxygen species (ROS) production during photodynamic therapy (PDT) of the tumor is less efficient. Herein, a facile method which involves the synthesis of Mg-Mn-Al layered double hydroxides (LDH) clay with MoS 2 doping in the surface and anionic layer space of LDH was presented, to integrate the photo-thermal effect of MoS 2 and imaging and catalytic functions of Mg-Mn-Al LDH. The designed LDH-MoS 2 (LMM) clay composite was further surface-coated with bovine serum albumin (BSA) to maintain the colloidal stability of LMM in physiological environment. A photosensitizer, chlorin e6 (Ce6), was absorbed at the surface and anionic layer space of LMM@BSA. In the LMM formulation, the magnetic resonance imaging of Mg-Mn-Al LDH was enhanced thanks to the reduced and acid microenvironment of the tumor. Notably, the ROS production and PDT efficiency of Ce6 were significantly improved, because LMM@BSA could catalyze the decomposing of the overexpressed H 2 O 2 in tumors to produce oxygen. The biocompatible LMM@BSA that played the synergism with tumor microenvironment is a promising candidate for the effective treatment of cancer.

Starvation therapy (ST) and chemodynamic therapy (CDT) are emerging tumor therapy methods in recent years. In this study, a simple approach was reported to prepare MoS 2 and glucose oxidase (GOx)-containing sodium alginate (ALG)-Fe 3+ (MAF) hydrogel. In the hydrogel, there exists an enzymatic reaction to consume glucose to form hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ), and a redox reaction between Fe 3+ and MoS 2 to form Fe 2+ and MoO 4 2- . The formed Fe 2+ could be oxidized to Fe 3+ , which reacts with MAF hydrogel again to continuously produce Fe 2+ . The consumption of glucose resulted in an obvious tumor ST. Moreover, the produced Fe 2+ induced a Fenton reaction to enable the persistent conversion of H 2 O 2 to cytotoxic hydroxyl radicals (·OH) for the CDT of tumors. Together with the high photothermal transforming capability of MoS 2 , the hydrogel was used for the combined tumor photothermal therapy (PTT), ST, and CDT. This work provides a window for the safe use of enzymes for achieving high tumor therapeutic efficacy., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The combination of reactive oxygen species (ROS)-induced chemodynamic therapy (CDT) and photothermal therapy (PTT) holds a promising application prospect for their superb anticancer efficiency. Herein, we created a novel Fe 3 O 4 @polydopamine (PDA)@bovine serum albumin (BSA)-Bi 2 S 3 composite as a theranostic agent, by chemically linking the Fe 3 O 4 @PDA with BSA-Bi 2 S 3 via the amidation between the carboxyl groups of BSA and the amino groups of PDA. In this formulation, the Fe 3 O 4 NPs could not only work as a mimetic peroxidase to trigger Fenton reactions of the innate H 2 O 2 in the tumor and generate highly cytotoxic hydroxyl radicals (•OH) to induce tumor apoptosis but also serve as the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) contrast agent to afford the precise cancer diagnosis. Meanwhile, the PDA could prevent the oxidization of Fe 3 O 4 , thus supporting the long-term Fenton reactions and the tumor apoptosis in the tumor. The Bi 2 S 3 component exhibits excellent photothermal transducing performance and computed tomography (CT) imaging capacity. In addition, the PDA and Bi 2 S 3 endow the Fe 3 O 4 @PDA@BSA-Bi 2 S 3 composite with an excellent photothermal transforming ability which could lead to tumor hyperthermia. All of these merits play the synergism with the tumor microenvironment and qualify the Fe 3 O 4 @PDA@BSA-Bi 2 S 3 NPs for a competent agent in the MRI/CT-monitored enhanced PTT/CDT synergistic therapy. Findings in this research will evoke new interests in future cancer therapeutic strategies based on biocompatible nanomaterials.

In this study, sodium alginate (ALG)/poly dopamine (PDA)-polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) nanocomposites was synthesized via a one-step electrostatic spraying method. The spinning solution of ALG and dopamine was electrostatically sprayed into an alkaline solution of PVP, calcium chloride and tris buffer (pH = 8.5), in which the gelation of ALG and the polymerization of dopamine could be simultaneously triggered. PDA hence produced possesses a high photothermal conversion efficiency, while the PVP that was facilely conjugated onto the surface of nanocomposites improves the colloidal stability and compatibility of the material. Moreover, the ALG renders the nanocomposite excellent drug (doxorubicine, DOX) loading capacity. Promisingly, the temperature increment during the PTT process could promote the DOX release, thus enhancing its therapeutic effect. The in vitro/in vivo biosafety and tumor treatment experiments further corroborate that the ALG/PDA-PVP nanocomposites have remarkable biocompatibility and synergism for tumor hyperthermia and chemotherapy. Consequently, such a one-step electrospray strategy provides a new way for designing nanomaterials and is expected to significantly promote the development of organic photothermal therapeutic agents with excellent bio-compatibility.

Background: Photothermal and chemotherapy treatment has been frequently studied for cancer therapy; however, chemotherapy is equally toxic to both normal and cancer cells. The clinical application value of most kinds of photothermal transforming agents remains limited, due to their poor degradation and minimal accumulation in tumors. Materials and methods: We reported the synthesis of photothermal transforming agents (MoS 2 ) and chemotherapeutic (doxorubicin, DOX) co-loaded electrospun nanofibers using blend electrospinning for the treatment of postoperative tumor recurrence. Results: Under the irradiation of an 808 nm laser, the as-prepared chitosan/polyvinyl alcohol/MoS 2 /DOX nanofibers showed an admirable photothermal conversion capability with a photothermal conversion efficiency of 23.2%. These composite nanofibers are in vitro and in vivo biocompatible. In addition, they could control the sustained release of DOX and the generated heat can sensitize the chemotherapeutic efficacy of DOX via enhancing its release rate. Their chemo-/photothermal combined therapy efficiency was systematically studied in vitro and in vivo. Instead of circulating with the body fluid, MoS 2 was trapped by the nanofibrous matrix in the tumor and so its tumor-killing ability was not compromised, thus rendering this composite nanofiber a promising alternative for future clinical translation within biomedical application fields. Conclusion: Chitosan/polyvinyl alcohol/MoS 2 /DOX nanofibers showed an excellent photothermal conversion capability with a photothermal conversion efficiency of 23.2% and can completely inhibit the postoperative tumor reoccurrence., Competing Interests: The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.

We herein report the development of multifunctional folic acid (FA)-targeted Fe3O4 @ Au nanostars (NSs) for targeted multi-mode magnetic resonance (MR)/computed tomography (CT)/photoacoustic (PA) imaging and photothermal therapy (PTT) of tumors. In this present work, citric acid-stabilized Fe3O4/Ag composite nanoparticles prepared by a mild reduction route were utilized as seeds and exposed to the Au growth solution to induce the formation of Fe3O4 @ Au core/shell NSs. Followed by successive decoration of thiolated polyethyleneimine (PEI-SH), FA via a polyethylene glycol spacer, and acetylation of the residual PEI amines, multifunctional Fe3O4 @ Au NSs were formed. The designed multifunctional NSs possess excellent colloidal stability, good cytocompatibility in a given concentration range, and specific recognition to cancer cells overexpressing FA receptors. Due to co-existence of Fe3O4 core and star-shaped Au shell, the NSs can be used for MR and CT imaging of tumors, respectively. Likewise, the near infrared plasmonic absorption feature also enables the NSs to be used for PA imaging and PTT of tumors. Our study clearly demonstrates a unique theranostic nanoplatform that can be used for high performance multi-mode imaging-guided PTT of tumors, which may be extendable for theranostics of different diseases in translational medicine.

MoS2 nanosheets and a doxorubicin (DOX)-containing poly (lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA)/MoS2 /DOX composite implant are successfully constructed based on the unique phase-changing behavior of PLGA/MoS2 /DOX oleosol within tumors. The fast phase transformation can firmly restrict MoS2 and DOX within tumors, and the integrated MoS2 and DOX can endow the implant with high synergistic photothermal and chemotherapeutic efficiency against tumors., (© 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

2D PEG-ylated MoS2/Bi2 S3 composite nanosheets are successfully constructed by introducing bismuth ions to react with the two extra S atoms in a (NH4)2 MoS4 molecule precursor for solvothermal synthesis of MoS2. The MBP nanosheets can serve as a promising platform for computed tomography and photoacoustic-imaging-guided tumor diagnosis, as well as combined tumor photothermal therapy and sensitized radiotherapy., (© 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

We report a facile approach to using laponite (LAP) nanodisks as a platform for efficient delivery of doxorubicin (DOX) to cancer cells. In this study, DOX was encapsulated into the interlayer space of LAP through an ionic exchange process with an exceptionally high loading efficiency of 98.3 ± 0.77%. The successful DOX loading was extensively characterized via different methods. In vitro drug release study shows that the release of DOX from LAP/DOX nanodisks is pH-dependent, and DOX is released at a quicker rate at acidic pH condition (pH = 5.4) than at physiological pH condition. Importantly, cell viability assay results reveal that LAP/DOX nanodisks display a much higher therapeutic efficacy in inhibiting the growth of a model cancer cell line (human epithelial carcinoma cells, KB cells) than free DOX drug at the same DOX concentration. The enhanced antitumor efficacy is primarily due to the much more cellular uptake of the LAP/DOX nanodisks than that of free DOX, which has been confirmed by confocal laser scanning microscope and flow cytometry analysis. The high DOX payload and enhanced antitumor efficacy render LAP nanodisks as a robust carrier system for different biomedical applications.