Multi-stimuli responsive Cu₂S nanocrystals as trimodal imaging and synergistic chemo-photothermal therapy agents

Abstract

A size and shape tuned, multifunctional metal chalcogenide, Cu2S-based nanotheranostic agent is developed for trimodal imaging and multimodal therapeutics against brain cancer cells. This theranostic agent was highly efficient in optical, photoacoustic and x-ray contrast imaging systems. The folate targeted, NIR-responsive photothermal ablation in synergism with the chemotherapeutic action of doxorubicin proved to be a rapid precision guided cancer-killing module. The multi-stimuli, i.e., pH-, thermo- and photo-responsive drug release behavior of the nanoconjugates opens up a wider corridor for on-demand, triggered drug administration. The simple synthesis protocol, combined with the multitudes of interesting features packed into a single nanoformulation, clearly demonstrates the competing role of this Cu2S nanosystem in future cancer treatment strategies.

Multifunctional Cu2−xTe Nanocubes Mediated Combination Therapy for Multi-Drug Resistant MDA MB 453

“…Hydrophilicity of the NCs is a principally crucial aspect when considering a nanomaterial for biological applications. To address this issue, a biofunctionalization, utilizing lipid-PEG hybrids to cap the NCs via a simple thin film hydration technique was employed 21 . The NCs were desiccated completely with lipid-PEG resulting in a thin film, which was further hydrated using PBS, yielding lipid-PEG coated NCs (PEG-NCs).…”

“…Inorganic nanoparticles as gold, metal sulfides etc., hold high-extinction coefficients in converting near-infrared (NIR) light to heat, and have been examined for photothermal therapy. Due to their tunable surface plasmon and NIR-thermal responsiveness, copper based chalcogenides seem promising in a wide range of biomedical applications and are ideally suited for theranostics 20 21 22 . Being p-type semiconductors, copper based chalcogenides determine charge transport and provide a composition-dependent localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) in the near-infrared (NIR) region 23 24 25 26 .…”

NIR-Laser-Controlled Drug Release from DOX/IR-780-Loaded Temperature-Sensitive-Liposomes for Chemo-Photothermal Synergistic Tumor Therapy

“…To date, there are various combined treatment approaches were developed 4-10. Among them, the combination of PTT and chemotherapeutic agents shows the most promising prospect to optimize cancer therapy 5, 11-13.…”

Structural evolution from CuS nanoflowers to Cu9S5 nanosheets and their applications in environmental pollution removal and photothermal conversion

“…Another advantage of the plasmonic semiconductor copper chalcogenide (Cu 2-x Y) nanocrystals is the tunable optical properties by varying value of x in a wide range between 0 and 1, from the Cu-rich Cu 2 S (chalcocite) to CuS (covellite). [32][33][34][35][36][37] For example, Burda and his co-workers found that the blue-shift of the absorbance spectra in NIR region occurred with the increase of free carrier concentration in different nonstoichiometric Cu 2-x S crystal phrases. [32][33][34][35][36][37] For example, Burda and his co-workers found that the blue-shift of the absorbance spectra in NIR region occurred with the increase of free carrier concentration in different nonstoichiometric Cu 2-x S crystal phrases.…”