Nano-golden adjuvant-polymersomes empower tumor photothermal-immunotherapy

The integration of photothermal therapy with immunotherapy represent a potential treatment for tumor patients. Here, we demonstrate that nano‑golden adjuvant-polymersomes (nGAP) with gold nanoclusters imbedded in the membrane and immunoadjuvant poly(I:C) encapsulated within the aqueous core empower tumor photothermal-immunotherapy. Upon near-infrared irradiation, nGAP elicits a strong photothermal effect on tumor cells, driving immunogenic cell death and activating dendritic cells. In murine LLC lung tumor models, a single session of irradiation following intratumoral injection of nGAP led to an impressive 83% cure rate, which further increased to 100% complete regression by equipping cRGD peptide on the polymersome surface and combining with anti-CTLA-4 antibody. Furthermore, the cured mice exhibited effective resistance to subsequent tumor re-challenges. Our findings also reveal that nGAP yields explicit abscopal effects, supporting the development of systemic and long-lasting anticancer immunity. nGAP presents an interesting therapeutic modality capable of effectively ablating both primary solid tumors and their metastatic counterparts.