Flexible MoS2-Embedded Human Serum Albumin Hollow Nanocapsules with Long Circulation Times and High Targeting Ability for Efficient Tumor Ablation

Herein, MoS2-embedded human serum albumin hollow nanocapsules (denoted MoS2/HSA) are successfully prepared via a hard-core-assisted layer-by-layer coating approach. The hollow MoS2/HSA nanocapsules possess an uniform size (280 nm), a larger hollow cavity, a low Young's modulus (222 +/- 20 MPa), excellent photothermal conversion ability, and a high drug loading capacity for doxorubicin (27 wt%). The flexible hollow MoS2/HSA nanocapsules exhibit significantly enhanced cellular uptake efficiency against breast cancer cells duo to their flexible property and targeting ability of HSA. In vivo experiments show that the flexible MoS2/HSA could reduce phagocytosis and effectively improve blood persistence and tumor accumulation. In vitro and in vivo experiments have demonstrated that the flexible MoS2/HSA based nanoplatforms effectively ablate breast cancer cells via synergistic photothermal and chemical therapy.