Platinum nanoworms for imaging-guided combined cancer therapy in the second near-infrared window

Abstract

Cancer imaging and therapy in the second near-infrared (NIR II) window have gained increasing interest owing to the high light penetration depth and minimal optical scattering in the NIR II region (1000–1350 nm). Meanwhile, integrating multiple diagnostic and therapeutic functions into one simple nanoparticle system is of vital significance for cancer theranostics. Herein, we prepare worm-like platinum (Pt) nanoparticles (Pt nanoworms) in a facile way. The Pt nanoworms with surface modification show long blood circulation, high tumor accumulation, and negligible toxicity. With high optical absorption in the NIR II region and strong X-ray attenuation abilities, the Pt nanoworms serve as a good photoacoustic agent and CT contrast agent. Meanwhile, the tumor growth is completely inhibited by using mild photothermal therapy and radiotherapy due to the photothermally improved hypoxia and Pt increased X-ray absorption. Therefore, our work presents a biocompatible platinum nanoparticle system that is promising in image-guided tumor therapy.