A Phase-Change Mediated Intelligent Nanoplatform for Chemo/Photothermal/Photodynamic Therapy of Cancer

Up to now, chemotherapy is still the main strategy for cancer treatment. However, the emergence of chemo-resistance and systemic side effects often seriously affects the treatment and prognosis. Herein, an intelligent nanoplatform based on dendritic mesoporous organosilica nanoparticles (DMON) is constructed. The encapsulated phase-change material, 1-tetradecanol (TD) can serve as a doorkeeper and enable the responsive release of drugs based on the temperature changes. Meanwhile, polyethylene glycol (PEG) is used to improve the dispersibility and biocompatibility. Cisplatin is chosen as the model of chemotherapy drug, which is co-loaded with indocyanine green (ICG) in DMON to produce DMON-PEG-cisplatin/ICG-TD (DPCIT). Exciting, the hyperthermia and reactive oxygen species induced by ICG under the NIR-laser irradiation will initiate a phase transition of TD to release cisplatin, thus leading a combined therapy (chemo/photothermal/photodynamic therapy). The results indicated that under laser irradiation, DPCIT can kill cancer cells and inhibit tumor growth efficiently. In addition, the designed nanoplatform reveals minimal systemic toxicity in vivo, in contrast, the distinct liver damage can be observed by the direct treatment of cisplatin. Overall, this research may provide a general approach for the targeted delivery and controlled release of chemotherapy drugs to realize a cooperatively enhanced multimodal tumor therapy.

Automated summary

Chemotherapy is still the main strategy for cancer treatment, but chemo-resistance and side effects limit its efficacy. In this study, an intelligent nanoplatform based on dendritic mesoporous organosilica nanoparticles (DMON) was developed for responsive drug release. The nanoplatform enabled a combined therapy (chemo/photothermal/photodynamic therapy), efficiently killing cancer cells and inhibiting tumor growth. Minimal systemic toxicity was observed in vivo, highlighting the potential of this nanoplatform for targeted and controlled chemotherapy drug delivery.