Dual-responsive molybdenum disulfide/copper sulfide-based delivery systems for enhanced chemo-photothermal therapy

Abstract

Molybdenum disulfide (MoS 2)-based drug delivery systems have shown considerable potential in cancer nanomedicines. In this work, a multifunctional nanoplatform comprising MoS 2 nanosheets decorated with copper sulfide (CuS) and further functionalized with polyethylene glycol (PEG) is reported. The resultant material has a particle size of approximately 115 nm, and can be loaded with doxorubicin (DOX) to a loading capacity of 162.3 mg DOX per g of carrier. Drug release is triggered by two stimuli (near infrared (NIR) irradiation and pH), and the carrier is shown to have excellent colloidal stability. The presence of both MoS 2 and CuS leads to very high photothermal conversion efficiency (higher than with MoS 2 alone). In vitro experiments revealed that the blank CuS-MoS 2-SH-PEG carrier is biocompatible, but that the synergistic application of chemo-photothermal therapy (in the form of CuS-MoS 2-SH-PEG loaded with DOX and NIR irradiation) led to greater cell death than either chemotherapy (CuS-MoS 2-SH-PEG(DOX) but no NIR) or photothermal therapy (CuS-MoS 2-SH-PEG with NIR). A cellular uptake study demonstrated that the nanoplatform can efficiently enter tumor cells, and that uptake is enhanced when NIR is applied. Overall, the functionalized MoS 2 material developed in this work exhibits great potential as an efficient system for dual responsive drug delivery and synergistic chemo-photothermal therapy. The route employed in our work thus provides a strategy to enhance photothermal efficacy for transition metal dichalcogenide drug delivery systems. 3 / 31

Nonspherical Metal‐Based Nanoarchitectures: Synthesis and Impact of Size, Shape, and Composition on Their Biological Activity

“…Chemical exfoliation is achieved via intercalation of lithium ions (usually derived from BuLi) to bulk TMDCs. [ 44,164,165 ] Chemical exfoliation via Li + intercalation is more successful than liquid exfoliation. The yield of single‐layered TMDC nanosheets is higher than other methods [ 166 ] although some sulfur atoms are lost in this method.…”

MoS2-based nanocomposites for cancer diagnosis and therapy

“…Meanwhile, PDT can enhance the penetration of tumor blood vessels and increase the intake of nanoparticles, improving the anti-tumor efficacy of nanodrugs [ 311 , 312 ]. Overall, the combination of phototherapy and chemotherapy can achieve a better therapeutic effect [ [313] , [314] , [315] , [316] , [317] , [318] , [319] , [320] , [321] , [322] , [323] , [324] ].…”

Applications of Two-Dimensional Nanomaterials in Breast Cancer Theranostics

“…In vivo results showed a higher survival rate of the treated group with combined therapy (100%) than solo gene (40%) or photothermal therapy (60%) at day 40. Other nanoconstructs based on MoS 2 nanosheets have also shown remarkable therapeutic outcomes for synergistic chemotherapy and photothermal treatment of breast cancer. , While crystalline TMDs are more effective for PTT than defective ones, the biodegradation of the former structures is harder. A burden of using TMDs in the clinic is that even in case of successful degradation after the therapeutic process, the released metallic ions pose toxicity to the human body at high dosages.…”