Abstract
Photothermal therapy (PTT) is a fledgling therapeutic strategy for cancer treatment with minimal invasiveness but clinical adoption has been stifled by concerns such as insufficient biodegradability of the PTT agents and lack of an efficient delivery system. Here, black phosphorus (BP) nanosheets are incorporated with a thermosensitive hydrogel [poly(d,l‐lactide)‐poly(ethylene glycol)‐poly(d,l‐lactide) (PDLLA‐PEG‐PDLLA: PLEL)] to produce a new PTT system for postoperative treatment of cancer. The BP@PLEL hydrogel exhibits excellent near infrared (NIR) photothermal performance and a rapid NIR‐induced sol–gel transition as well as good biodegradability and biocompatibility in vitro and in vivo. Based on these merits, an in vivo PTT postoperative treatment strategy is established. Under NIR irradiation, the sprayed BP@PLEL hydrogel enables rapid gelation forming a gelled membrane on wounds and offers high PTT efficacy to eliminate residual tumor tissues after tumor removal surgery. Furthermore, the good photothermal antibacterial performance prevents infection and this efficient and biodegradable PTT system is very promising in postoperative treatment of cancer.
Highlights
To reduce the incidence of relapse, radiotherapy and chemotherapy are often treatment with minimal invasiveness but clinical adoption has been stifled implemented after surgery[5] but serious by concerns such as insufficient biodegradability of the Photothermal therapy (PTT) agents and lack of an efficient delivery system
The black phosphorus (BP) nanosheets are prepared by a modified liquid exfoliation technique based on the method reported by our group previously[49,50] and characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and Raman scattering spectroscopy
The results demonstrate that the sol–gel transition of BP@PLEL hydrogel can be precisely controlled by near infrared (NIR) light by tailoring the irradiation time and location site
Summary
The BP nanosheets are prepared by a modified liquid exfoliation technique based on the method reported by our group previously[49,50] and characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and Raman scattering spectroscopy. The optical properties of the BP nanosheets dispersed in an aqueous solution are determined. To evaluate the NIR photothermal performance, different concentrations of BP nanosheets (0, 2, 5, 10, 25, and 50 ppm) are dispersed in aqueous solutions and exposed to an NIR laser (808 nm, 1.0 W cm−2). The solution temperature is monitored as a function of irradiation time (Figure 1h). At a low concentration (50 ppm), the solution temperature increases by 31.4 °C after irradiation for only 5 min. The temperature of water increases by only 2.9 °C, indicating that the BP nanosheets can rapidly and efficiently convert NIR light into thermal energy
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