Plasmonic MoO 3-x nanoparticles incorporated in Prussian blue frameworks exhibit highly efficient dual photothermal/photodynamic therapy

• Published in: Journal of materials chemistry. B, Materials for biology and medicine Materials for biology and medicine, 2019-03, Vol.7 (12), p.2032-2042
• Main Authors: Odda, Atheer Hameid, Xu, Youcui, Lin, Jun, Wang, Gang, Ullah, Naseeb, Zeb, Akif, Liang, Kuang, Wen, Long-Ping, Xu, An-Wu
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 2050-750X; 2050-7518
• DOI: 10.1039/C8TB03148G

Development of near infrared (NIR) light-responsive nanomaterials for high performance multimodal phototherapy within a single nanoplatform is still challenging in technology and biomedicine. Herein, a new phototherapeutic nanoagent based on FDA-approved Prussian blue (PB) functionalized oxygen-deficient molybdenum oxide nanoparticles (MoO NPs) is strategically designed and synthesized by a facile one-pot size/morphology-controlled process. The as-prepared PB-MoO nanocomposites (NCs) with a uniform particle size of ∼90 nm and high water dispersibility exhibited strong optical absorption in the first biological window, which is induced by plasmon resonance in an oxygen-deficient MoO semiconductor. More importantly, PB-MoO NCs not only exhibited a high photothermal conversion efficiency of ∼63.7% and photostability but also offered a further approach for the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) upon singular NIR light irradiation which significantly improved the therapeutic efficiency of the PB agent. Furthermore, PB-MoO NCs showed a negligible cytotoxic effect in the dark, but an excellent therapeutic effect toward two triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) cell lines at a low concentration (20 μg mL ) of NCs and a moderate NIR laser power density. Additionally, efficient tumor ablation and metastasis inhibition in a 4T1 TNBC mouse tumor model can also be realized by synergistic photothermal/photodynamic therapy (PTT/PDT) under a single continuous NIR wave laser. Taken together, this study paved the way for the use of a single nanosystem for multifunctional therapy.