Macrophage-engulfed MoS2 for active targeted photothermal therapy

Abstract

Tumor targeted therapy has been a subject of research owing to its excellent therapeutic outcome and minimal side effects. However, it is still a challenge for the well-known nanomaterial-mediated phototherapy. In this study, macrophages were employed as biocarriers for the targeted delivery of MoS₂, which is an untargeted photothermal agent with large particle dimension. The uptake of MoS₂ by macrophages was found to be directly proportional to the incubation time as well as MoS₂ concentration. Furthermore, macrophage-engulfed MoS₂ well maintained the photothermal conversion effect, showing no clear decline upon photo-heating. Consequently, macrophage-engulfed MoS₂ could effectively ablate the cancer cells by the photothermal effect, as evidenced by the in vitro test. Importantly, the active targeting effect of macrophages enabled MoS₂ to realize in vivo photoablation of solid tumors via intravenous administration, whereas bare MoS₂ was invalid for this process. Finally, the biological evolution process of tumors after photothermal treatment was studied by B-mode ultrasonography, magnetic resonance imaging, and histological analysis.