Sodium-borohydride exfoliated bismuthene loaded with Mitomycin C for chemo-photo-radiotherapy of triple negative breast cancer

In current study, a new remotely controlled drug delivery, radio-sensitizing, and photothermal therapy agent based on thioglycolic acid modified bismuth nanosheets is thoroughly evaluated. Bismuth nanosheets were synthesized using sodium borohydride (NaBH4) and Tween 20 through low energy (400 W) sonication within 2 h. The resultant nanosheets were 40-60 nm in size and 1-3 atomic layers in thickness. The morphological and structural characteristics of the nanosheets were studied using transmission electron microscopy, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy and ultraviolet spectroscopy. The surface of the nanosheets was modified using thioglycolic acid, which resulted in enhanced Mitomycin C loading capacity to 274.35% and circumvented the burst drug release due to the improved electrostatic interactions. At pH 7.4 and 5.0, the drug release was significantly boosted from 45.1 to 69.8%, respectively. Thioglycolic acid modified bismuth nanosheets under 1064 nm laser irradiation possessed photothermal conversion efficiency of eta = 51.4% enabling a temperature rise of 24.9 degrees C at 100 mu g/ml in 5 min. The combination of drug delivery, photothermal therapy, and radio-sensitization greatly damaged the MDA-MB-231 cells through apoptosis and diminished their colony forming.

Automated summary

A new remotely controlled drug delivery, radio-sensitizing, and photothermal therapy agent based on thioglycolic acid modified bismuth nanosheets was evaluated. The nanosheets were synthesized using low energy sonication and were 40-60 nm in size and 1-3 atomic layers thick. The surface modification with thioglycolic acid enhanced the drug loading capacity and improved drug release. Under laser irradiation, the modified nanosheets showed high photothermal conversion efficiency. The combined therapy effectively damaged cancer cells.