Facile synthesis of novel albumin-functionalized flower-like MoS2 nanoparticles for in vitro chemo-photothermal synergistic therapy

Abstract

Synergistic therapy, the combination of photothermal therapy and chemotherapy, has been becoming an attractive strategy to circumvent certain drawbacks in current cancer chemotherapy. Herein, a synergistic therapeutic nanoplatform based on novel albumin functionalized flower-like MoS₂ spherical nanoparticles was reported. The MoS₂ nanoparticles were prepared by using hydrazine hydrate as both reductive agent and structure-directing agent via a facile hydrothermal procedure. Bovine serum albumin (BSA) was subsequently modified onto the surface of MoS₂ (MoS₂@BSA) to improve the physiological stability and biocompatibility of nanoparticles. The results indicated that the prepared MoS₂@BSA hybrid nanoparticles not only possess high photothermal conversion efficiency and physiological stability, but also the ability to effectively load and intelligently release the chemotherapeutic drug doxorubicin hydrochloride (DOX). The in vitro cytotoxicity of MoS₂@BSA was tested with murine breast cancer cells (4T1), revealing the excellent biocompatibility of hybrid nanoparticles. Furthermore, the negligible hemolytic activity and efficient cellular uptake of MoS₂@BSA was also testified. More importantly, the combination of DOX loading and photothermal treatment with MoS₂@BSA in the form of MoS₂@BSA–DOX displayed better therapeutic efficacy than single photothermal therapy or chemotherapy. Thus, our results demonstrated that the novel combined therapeutic nanoplatform based on the flower-like MoS₂ hybrid nanoparticles could be an attractive candidate for cancer treatments.