AUTHOR=Liu Haibin , Zhuang Feng , Zhang Chengjian , Ai Wanzhao , Liu Wei , Zhou Xukun TITLE=Functionalized Organic–Inorganic Liposome Nanocomposites for the Effective Photo-Thermal Therapy of Breast Cancer JOURNAL=Frontiers in Materials VOLUME=8 YEAR=2021 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/materials/articles/10.3389/fmats.2021.710187 DOI=10.3389/fmats.2021.710187 ISSN=2296-8016 ABSTRACT=

Organic–inorganic nanocomposites for photothermal therapy of cancers emerged as a promising strategy against malignant tumors. However, it is still a big challenge to develop a nanocomposite system that can maximize the synergistic photo-thermal therapy effect as well as preserve high stability for simultaneous delivery of the chemotherapeutic drugs and photo-thermal agents. Here, we have exploited an organic liposome containing inorganic core for co-loading the aggregates of bovine serum albumin (BSA), indocyanine green (ICG), and doxorubicin (DOX), abbreviated as BID-liposomal nanocomposites. The three kinds of substances were aggregated in the core of liposomal nanocomposites through hydrophobic and electrostatic interactions. In vitro characterization shows that BID-liposomal nanocomposites were spherical nanoparticles with size of 30–50 nm and good storage stability. Moreover, BID-Liposomal nanocomposites illustrate the strongest cytotoxicity among all the formulations against murine 4T1 tumor cells. In breast cancer-bearing mouse models, BID liposomes lead to significant improvements in tumor inhibition effects with no obvious toxicity. Therefore, the BID-liposomal nanoparticle is believed to be a promising strategy for chemo-photo-thermal therapy against cancers.