No abstract

Photothermal therapy (PTT) with the advantages of high efficiency and minimal invasiveness is a promising technique for tumor therapy, but clinical application of PTT agents has been stifled by the great safety concerns. Herein, a deep blue iodine−starch−alginate (ALG) hydrogel is elegantly fabricated based on the classic and simple "iodine−starch test" for in vivo tumor PTT in a facile and mild way. The iodine−starch−ALG hydrogel composed of clinically used agents is fabricated by dispersing blue iodine−starch complex into alginate−Ca 2+ hydrogel, which guarantees the good chemical stability of iodine−starch complex via separating them from surrounding reductive environment. The iodine−starch−ALG hydrogel possesses favorable biocompatibility derived from the biosafe and degradable components and possesses good photothermal heating ability based on iodine−starch chromophore. The proposed iodine−starch−ALG hydrogel is successfully applied in tumor PTT in vitro and in vivo for the first time. This work lays down a novel way for the development of high-performance and biocompatible biomaterials via teaching old drugs new tricks.