Supramolecular Protein Nanodrugs with Coordination- and Heating-Enhanced Photothermal Effects for Antitumor Therapy

Supramolecular protein nanodrugs provide opportunities for improving antitumor therapeutic efficiency and lowering toxicity. However, protein nanodrugs that have robust structural stability and enhanced therapeutic efficiency are still in infancy. In this study, photothermal protein nanodrugs are constructed through a supramolecular approach along with heating by using proteins, photosensitizers, and metal ions as the building blocks. The metal coordination and heating improve not only the structural stability but also photothermal performance of the resulting nanodrugs. By virtue of the first integration of coordination- and heating-enhanced photothermal effects, the nanodrugs show superior photothermal conversion efficiency, enhanced tumor accumulation, and improved tumor inhibition. Metal coordination and heating are versatile to be applied for various protein nanodrugs. Hence, this study provides insights for the construction of highly efficient photothermal nanodrugs and thus will be beneficial to precision theranostics.