Resonance Energy Transfer-Promoted Photothermal and Photodynamic Performance of Gold–Copper Sulfide Yolk–Shell Nanoparticles for Chemophototherapy of Cancer

Abstract

Gold (Au) core@void@copper sulfide (CuS) shell (Au-CuS) yolk-shell nanoparticles (YSNPs) were prepared in the present study for potential chemo-, photothermal, and photodynamic combination therapy, so-called "chemophototherapy". The resonance energy transfer (RET) process was utilized in Au-CuS YSNPs to achieve both enhanced photothermal and photodynamic performance compared with those of CuS hollow nanoparticles (HNPs). A series of Au nanomaterials as cores that had different localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) absorption peaks at 520, 700, 808, 860, and 980 nm were embedded in CuS HNPs to screen the most effective Au-CuS YSNPs according to the RET process. Thermoresponsive polymer was fabricated on these YSNPs' surface to allow for controlled drug release. Au-CuS and Au-CuS YSNPs were found capable of inducing the largest temperature elevation and producing the most significant hydroxyl radicals under 808 and 980 nm laser irradiation, respectively, which could accordingly cause the most severe 4T1 cell injury through oxidative stress mechanism. Moreover, doxorubicin-loaded (Dox-loaded) P(NIPAM-co-AM)-coated Au-CuS (p-Au-CuS@Dox) YSNPs could more efficiently kill cells than unloaded particles upon 980 nm laser irradiation. After intravenous administration to 4T1 tumor-bearing mice, p-Au-CuS YSNPs could significantly accumulate in the tumor and effectively inhibit the tumor growth after 980 nm laser irradiation, and p-Au-CuS@Dox YSNPs could further potentiate the inhibition efficiency and exhibit excellent in vivo biocompatibility. Taken together, this study sheds light on the rational design of Au-CuS YSNPs to offer a promising candidate for chemophototherapy.

Smart Porous Core–Shell Cuprous Oxide Nanocatalyst with High Biocompatibility for Acid‐Triggered Chemo/Chemodynamic Synergistic Therapy

“…Notably, the size obtained from DLS was larger than that measured by TEM ( Figure S1, Supporting Information), which may be due to a fact that DLS result gives a hydrodynamic particle size, whereas TEM image displays a dehydration morphology. [18] The Cu content of resulting core-shell Cu 2 O-PEG NCs was 80.39% calculated by the standard curve ( Figure S2A, Supporting Information). Meanwhile, the content of external PEG could be calculated to be as high as 9.49% according to the amount of Cu 2 O obtained from Cu content via molecular computation.…”

Therapeutics for Inflammatory-Related Diseases Based on Plasmon-Activated Water: A Review

“…Since gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) possess well-defined localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) bands in the UV–near infrared (IR) regions, they are commonly used in surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) for improved diagnostic imaging [ 1 , 2 , 3 ] and in photothermal ablation of tumors [ 4 , 5 , 6 ]. Recently, AuNPs have been widely utilized in innovatively therapeutic strategies on various cancers [ 7 , 8 , 9 ].…”

Tumor Microenvironment-Responsive Nanomaterials as Targeted Delivery Carriers for Photodynamic Anticancer Therapy

“…Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a promising approach to treat malignancies and other non-neoplastic lesions including condyloma acuminata, acne, and port wine stains (Rkein and Ozog, 2014 ). For decades, safe and effective PDT in the management of cancer has attracted extensive attention in clinical settings (Kelly et al, 1975 ; Chang et al, 2018 ; Feng et al, 2018 ; Sun et al, 2019 ). However, poor targeting and low solubility of most photosensitizers (PS) limits the clinical application of PDT (Panagopoulos et al, 1989 ; Haddad et al, 2000 ; Dolmans et al, 2003 ; Chatterjee et al, 2008 ).…”