Biomimetic Nanovesicles for Enhanced Antitumor Activity of Combinational Photothermal and Chemotherapy

The combination of multiple modalities has shown great potential in cancer treatment with improved therapeutic effects and minimized side effects. Here, we fabricated a type of doxorubicin-encapsulated biomimetic nanovesicle (NV) by a facile method with near-infrared dye insertion in the membrane for combinatorial photothermal and chemotherapy. With innate biomimetic properties, NVs enhanced the uptake by tumor cells while reducing the phagocytosis of macrophages. Upon laser irradiation, NVs can convert the absorbed fluorescent energy into heat for effective tumor killing. Hyperthermia can further induce membrane ablation of NVs to accelerate the release of chemotherapeutic drug for potent cytotoxicity to tumor cells. The NVs improved drug accumulation and showed a more efficient in vivo photothermal effect with a rapid temperature increase in tumors. Moreover, the NV-based combinational photothermal and chemotherapy exhibited significant tumor growth suppression with a high inhibitory rate of 91.6% and negligible systemic toxicity. The results indicate that NVs could be an appealing vehicle for combinational cancer treatment.