Bi₂Se₃@BiSe heterostructures for triple-modal anticancer therapy: Integrating photothermal, photodynamic, and immunotherapeutic approaches

The integration of photothermal therapy (PTT), photodynamic therapy (PDT), and immunotherapy represents a promising strategy for enhancing anticancer efficacy. However, current approaches often rely on cocktail-based nanoplatforms that load multiple agents, which complicates preparation and raises concerns about stability and potential side effects. Therefore, developing structurally simple, easily synthesized nanomaterials with inherent multifunctionality is highly desirable. In this work, we report the first synthesis of biocompatible heterostructures. The interfacial contact within these heterostructures facilitates efficient charge carrier separation, enabling the simultaneous activation of photothermal conversion and photodynamic functionalities under near-infrared (NIR) irradiation. Beyond these photophysical effects, the obtained Bi₂Se₃@BiSe nanosheets effectively polarize M0 macrophages toward the tumor-suppressive M1 phenotype, a process which in turn promotes robust immunogenic cell death. Collectively, this work establishes Bi₂Se₃@BiSe as a versatile nanoplatform for triple-modal cancer therapy, seamlessly integrating PTT, PDT, and immunotherapy, thus proposing a novel paradigm for developing next-generation combinatory cancer therapeutics.