Method for the Instant In-Flight Manufacture of Black Phosphorus to Assemble Core@Shell Nanocomposites for Targeted Photoimmunotherapy

Inorganic nanomaterial (INM)-based combination cancer therapies have been extensively employed over the past two decades because of their benefits over traditional chemo- and radiotherapies. However, issues regarding the toxicity and accumulation of INMs in the body have arisen. This problem may be improved through the use of biodegradable or disintegrable nanosystems such as black phosphorus (BP). Challenges to the manufacture of fully nanodimensional BP remain. In addition, improvements in recently developed cancer immunotherapies require their incorporation with drugs, targeting agents, and delivery vehicles. With these needs in mind, this study develops a method for instant in-flight manufacture of nanodimensional BP using plug-and-play devices for subsequent assembly of photoimmunotherapeutic core@shell composites containing mutated B-raf inhibitors (dabrafenib), immune checkpoint inhibitors (PD-L1), and cancer-targeting antibodies (CXCR4). The resulting nanocomposites exhibited cancer targetability and regulatability of PD-L1 expression both in vitro and in vivo. These activities were further increased upon near-infrared irradiation due to the incorporation of a phototherapeutic component. These results suggest that these nanocomposites are promising as a new class of advanced cancer therapeutic agents.