Elucidating Gold-MnO₂ Core-Shell Nanoenvelope for Real Time SERS-Guided Photothermal Therapy on Pancreatic Cancer...

Pancreatic cancer represents one of the most aggressive in nature with a miserable prognosis that warrants efficient diagnostic and therapeutic interventions. Herein, a MnO₂ overlaid gold nanoparticle (AuNPs) based photothermal theranostic nanoenvelope (PTTNe:MnO₂@AuNPs) was fabricated to substantiate surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) guided real-time monitoring of photothermal therapy (PTT) in pancreatic cancer cells. A sharp enhancement of the fingerprint Raman signature of MnO₂ at 569 cm^-1 exhibited as a marker peak for the first time to elucidate the intracellular PTT event. In this strategic design, the leftover bare AuNPs after the degradation of the MnO₂ layer from the nanoenvelope in the presence of intracellular H₂O₂ enabled real-time tracking of biomolecular changes of Raman spectral variations during PTT. Moreover, the surface of the as-synthesized nanoenvelope was functionalized with a pancreatic cancer cell targeting peptide sequence for cholecystokinin fashioned the PTTNe with admirable stability and biocompatibility. Finally, the precise cell death mechanism was explicitly assessed by SERS spectral analysis as a complementary technique. This targeted phototheranostic approach demonstrated in pancreatic cancer cells presented a therapeutically viable prototype for futuristic personalized cancer nanomedicine.