A multifunctional nanoplatform based on Fe3O4@Au NCs with magnetic targeting ability for single NIR light-triggered PTT/PDT synergistic therapy of cancer

Abstract

Although simultaneous photothermal therapy (PTT) and photodynamic therapy (PDT) have been proven to be beneficial for cancer treatment, high-power laser light sources, shallow penetration depth of light and especially activation by two different light sources make it difficult to be popularized in clinical cancer therapy. Herein, the novel multifunctional Fe3O4@Au nanocomposites (NCs) have been designed and synthesized, which simultaneously act as photothermal conversion agents (PCAs) and photosensitizers (PSs) for PTT/PDT synergistic therapy of human cervical cancer (HeLa) cells using a single excitation light source. Under low-power 808 nm laser irradiation, photothermal conversion efficiency (PCE) of Fe3O4@Au NCs was as high as 39.22% and the cytotoxic singlet oxygen (1O2) could be simultaneously generated. In addition, Fe3O4@Au NCs showed relatively good biocompatibility and low cytotoxicity, which were ideal alternatives for nanotherapeutic agents for treatment of HeLa cells. Meanwhile, PTT only and PTT/PDT dual-modal therapeutic effects of Fe3O4@Au NCs on HeLa cells were compared. The experimental results confirmed that the near-infrared (NIR)-triggered PDT/PTT synergistic therapy of HeLa cells was more efficient due to the synergistic effect. Interestingly, Fe3O4@Au NCs with saturation magnetization (Ms) value of 66.5 emu/g possessed good magnetic responsivity, which could be collected easily with a magnet. The magnetic targeting of Fe3O4@Au NCs could effectively promote their accumulation at tumor sites, thus further enhancing the efficacy of PTT/PDT synergistic therapy of HeLa cells. This study provides a feasible paradigm for magnetic targeting-assisted PTT/PDT synergistic therapy of cancer cells under a single-wavelength excitation and opens up a novel direction for clinical cancer therapy.