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.