Fabrication of Small Multifunctional CuS Nanoclusters for Fluorescence Imaging and Chemo-Photothermal Therapy of Cancer

A multifunctional nanodrug, PAMAM@CuS-HA-RB/DOX, was prepared for the real time tracking and chemo-photothermal therapy of tumor cells. The CuS nanoclusters with diameter less than 10 nm could be easily ingested by tumor cells and showed good colloid stability and high photothermal conversion efficiency. The hyaluronic acid (HA) coating and rhodamine B (RB) labeling endowed the nanocomposite with low cytotoxity and real time fluorescence imaging ability. In the acidic tumor microenvironment, the doxorubicin linked via the pH-responsive hydrazone bonds was released and worked synergistically with CuS to kill the tumor cells, which showed a high chemo-photothermal therapy capacity. All these properties indicated the PAMAM@CuS-HA-RB/DOX have promising application for the therapy of cancers and tracking of nanodrugs.