Stanene-Based Nanosheets for β-Elemene Delivery and Ultrasound-Mediated Combination Cancer Therapy

Ultrasound (US)-mediated sonodynamic therapy (SDT) has emerged as a superior modality for cancer treatment owing to the non-invasiveness and high tissue-penetrating depth. However, developing biocompatible nanomaterialbased sonosensitizers with efficient SDT capability remains challenging. Here, we employed a liquid-phase exfoliation strategy to obtain a new type of two-dimensional (2D) stanenebased nanosheets (SnNSs) with a band gap of 2.3 eV, which is narrower than those of the most extensively studied nanosonosensitizers, allowing a more efficient US-triggered separation of electron (e(-))-hole (h(+)) pairs for reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation. In addition, we discovered that such SnNSs could also serve as robust near-infrared (NIR)-mediated photothermal therapy (PTT) agents owing to their efficient photothermal conversion, and serve as nanocarriers for anticancer drug delivery owing to the inherent 2D layered structure. This study not only presents general nanoplatforms for SDT-enhanced combination cancer therapy, but also highlights the utility of 2D SnNSs to the field of nanomedicine.

Automated summary

This study utilized a liquid-phase exfoliation strategy to obtain a new type of two-dimensional stanene-based nanosheets with a narrower band gap, allowing more efficient generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) through ultrasound-triggered separation of electron-hole pairs. Additionally, these nanosheets showed potential for near-infrared-mediated photothermal therapy (PTT) and as nanocarriers for anticancer drug delivery. This research provides general nanoplatforms for SDT-enhanced combination cancer therapy and highlights the utility of 2D stanene nanosheets in the field of nanomedicine.