Degradable Vanadium Disulfide Nanostructures with Unique Optical and Magnetic Functions for Cancer Theranostics

Multifunctional biodegradable inorganic theranostic nano-agents are of great interest to the field of nanomedicine. Upon lipid modification, VS₂ nanosheets could be converted into ultra-small VS₂ nanodots encapsulated inside polyethylene glycol (PEG) modified lipid micelles. Owing to paramagnetism, high near-infrared (NIR) absorbance, and chelator-free ^99m Tc⁴⁺ labeling of VS₂ , such VS₂ @lipid-PEG nanoparticles could be used for T1-weighted magnetic resonance (MR), photoacoustic (PA),and single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) tri-modal imaging guided photothermal ablation of tumors. Importantly, along with the gradual degradation of VS₂ , our VS₂ @lipid-PEG nanoparticles exhibit effective body excretion without appreciable toxicity. The unique advantages of VS₂ nanostructures with highly integrated functionalities and biodegradable behaviors mean they are promising for applications in cancer theranostics.