Multifunctional bioactive Nd-Ca-Si glasses for fluorescence thermometry, photothermal therapy, and burn tissue repair

Photothermal therapy (PTT), an emerging tumor treatment technology, has attracted tremendous interest, but excessive heat will cause damage to surrounding healthy tissues. Therefore, in situ temperature monitoring during PTT is of great importance to determine optimal treatment temperature and repair heat-damaged normal tissues. Here, we report the preparation of multifunctional Nd-Ca-Si silicate glasses and glass/alginate composite hydrogels that not only have photothermal property but also emit fluorescence under 808-nm laser irradiation, and its fluorescence intensity is linearly correlated with in situ temperature. With this feature, optimal PTT temperature for effective tumor treatment with minimal normal tissue damage can be obtained. In addition, because of the bioactive silicate components, the composite hydrogel has bioactivity to repair heat damage caused by PTT. This implantable multifunctional material with unique temperature monitoring, photothermal function, and wound healing bioactivity can be used for localized thermal therapy.