Functionalized boron nanosheets as an intelligent nanoplatform for synergistic low-temperature photothermal therapy and chemotherapy

In this work, an innovative boron-based multifunctional nanoplatform was developed for synergistic chemotherapy/low temperature photothermal therapy (PTT). This platform is functionalized with a cRGD peptide to allow the targeting of αvβ3 integrin, which is over-expressed in the cells of tumors. The nanoparticles were further loaded with the chemotherapeutic drug doxorubicin (DOX) and a heat shock protein inhibitor (17AAG), and high loading capacities for both DOX (603 mg g−1 B-PEG-cRGD) and 17AAG (417 mg g−1) were obtained. The resultant DOX-17AAG@B-PEG-cRGD system shows both pH-controlled and near-infrared (NIR)-induced DOX and 17AAG release. It also provides significantly enhanced cellular uptake in cancerous cells over healthy cells. The presence of 17AAG allows low-temperature PTT to be combined with chemotherapy with DOX, resulting in highly effective anti-cancer activity. This has been confirmed by both in vitro assays and using an in vivo murine cancer model. It is expected that such a multifunctional nanoplatform can serve as a promising candidate for cancer therapy.