Photosensitizer-Conjugated Bi₂Te₃ Nanosheets as Theranostic Agent for Synergistic Photothermal and Photodynamic Therapy

摘要

Phototherapy, including photothermal therapy (PTT)/photodynamic therapy (PDT), is usually considered as a promising strategy for cancer treatment due to its noninvasive and selective therapeutic effect by laser irradiation. A light-activatable nanoplatform based on bovine serum albumin (BSA)-coated Bi_(2)Te_(3) nanosheets conjugated with methylene blue (MB) was successfully designed and constructed for bimodal PTT/PDT combination therapy. The resultant nanoconstruct (BSA-Bi_(2)Te_(3)/MB) exhibited high stability in various physiological solutions and excellent biocompatibility. Especially, the nanoconstruct not only possessed strong near-infrared absorption and high photothermal conversion as a photothermal agent for efficient tumor ablation but also could successfully load photosensitizer for PDT of tumor. When exposed to laser irradiation, tumors in mice with BSA-Bi_(2)Te_(3)/MB injection were completely eliminated without recurrence within 15 d, demonstrating the potential of the nanoconstruct as a bimodal PTT/PDT therapeutic platform for cancer treatment.