Defective Porous Carbon Polyhedra Decorated with Copper Nanoparticles for Enhanced NIR‐Driven Photothermal Cancer Therapy

Abstract

Currently, there is tremendous interest in the discovery of new and improved photothermal agents for near‐infrared (NIR)‐driven cancer therapy. Herein, a series of novel photothermal agents, comprising copper nanoparticles supported on defective porous carbon polyhedra are successfully prepared by heating a Cu‐BTC metal–organic framework (MOF) precursor at different temperatures (t) in the range 400–900 °C under an argon atmosphere. The copper nanoparticle size and carbon defect concentration in the obtained products (denoted herein as Cu@CPP‐t) increase with synthesis temperature, thus imparting the Cu@CPP‐t samples with distinct NIR absorption properties and photothermal heating responses. The Cu@CPP‐800 sample shows a remarkable photothermal conversion efficiency of 48.5% under 808 nm laser irradiation, representing one of the highest photothermal efficiencies yet reported for a carbon‐based photothermal agent. In vivo experiments conducted with tumor bearing nude Balb/c mice confirm the efficacy of Cu@CPP‐800 as a very promising NIR‐driven phototherapy agent for cancer treatment. Results encourage the wider use of MOFs as low cost precursors for the synthesis of carbon‐supported metal nanoparticle composites for photothermal therapy.

Ultrahigh-Pressure Preparation and Catalytic Activity of MOF-Derived Cu Nanoparticles

“…Subsequently, the Cu content was increased drastically by heating at 400 • C, indicating the occurrence of the pyrolyzation. Previous studies have reported that Cu-BTC decomposes at >400 • C under ambient pressure [35][36][37][38]. Our experiments show that heating of Cu-BTC in vacuum had the same trend.…”

“…Previous studies have reported that Cu-BTC decomposes at >400 °C under ambient pressure [ 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 ]. Our experiments show that heating of Cu-BTC in vacuum had the same trend.…”

“…For the samples synthesized at 5 GPa/500 °C and 5 GPa/400 °C, the sizes of Cu NPs are around 5 and 10 nm, respectively, which are smaller than that pyrolyzed in a vacuum-sealed glass tube. Furthermore, the Cu NPs are also smaller than the values of the reported Cu-BTC-derived materials pyrolyzed at ambient pressure [ 35 , 36 , 37 ]. Therefore, high-pressure treatments enable the Cu NPs to prevent from sintering without any special templates or support materials.…”

Pyrolyzed chitin nanofiber paper as a three-dimensional porous and defective nanocarbon for photosensing and energy storage

“…5c and d), in which the defective carbon molecular structures could promote excited electron relaxation through predominantly nonradiative transitions, thus releasing energy as heat. 34,35 Therefore, the photosensing performance of the pyrolyzed chitin nanofiber papers would be derived from their temperature increase upon light irradiation. The temperature increase could enhance the carrier transport in the pyrolyzed chitin nanofiber papers with semiconductor-level electrical properties.…”

Nanomaterials and their composite scaffolds for photothermal therapy and tissue engineering applications

“…Organic PTAs are widely used in PTT and include small-molecule dyes and polymer-based nanoparticles (NPs). Inorganic nanomaterials such as carbon nanomaterials, gold nanoparticles, transition metal nanomaterials, and black phosphorus have attracted extensive concern in cancer therapy owing to their unique properties and functions, such as high photothermal conversion efficiency (PCE) and remarkable photothermal stability [10][11][12][13].…”