Hydrophilic Cu3BiS3 nanoparticles (NPs) have been prepared using the thermal decomposition of precursor complexes in oily‐mixed solvent followed by coating the produced Cu3BiS3 NPs with polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP). The resulting Cu3BiS3/PVP NPs remain stable in aqueous solutions over a long period of time, and meanwhile, they show low in vitro cytotoxicity and negligible toxicity to mice in vivo. Cu3BiS3/PVP NPs could operate as an efficient dual‐modal contrast agent to simultaneously enhance X‐ray computed tomography imaging and photothermal imaging of tumor model in vivo. Moreover, highly efficient ablation of cancer cells both in vitro and in vivo has been successfully achieved by combining Cu3BiS3/PVP NPs with near‐infrared (NIR) laser irradiation. All of the positive results in this study highlight that Cu3BiS3/PVP NPs could serve as a promising platform for cancer diagnosis and therapy.
Superparamagnetic manganese ferrite (MnFe2O4) nanoparticles have been deposited on graphene oxide (GO) by the thermal decomposition of manganese (II) acetylacetonate and iron (III) acetylacetonate precursors in triethylene glycol. The resulting GO/MnFe2O4 nanohybrids show very low cytotoxicity, negligible hemolytic activity, and imperceptible in vivo toxicity. In vitro and in vivo magnetic resonance imaging experiments demonstrate that GO/MnFe2O4 nanohybrids could be used as an effective T2 contrast agent. The strong optical absorbance in the near-infrared (NIR) region and good photothermal stability of GO/MnFe2O4 nanohybrids result in the highly efficient photothermal ablation of cancer cells. GO/MnFe2O4 nanohybrids can be further loaded with doxorubicin (DOX) by π-π conjugate effect for chemotherapy. DOX release from GO/MnFe2O4 is significantly influenced by pH and can be triggered by NIR laser. The enhanced cancer cell killing by GO/MnFe2O4/DOX composites has been achieved when irradiated with near-infrared light, suggesting that the nanohybrids could deliver both DOX chemotherapy and photothermal therapy with a synergistic effect.
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