Gallic Acid-Modified Graphene Oxide Nanocomposites Based Photothermal-Chemotherapy Enhancing Melanoma Immunotherapy

Conventional therapy for the treatment of melanoma often results in poor therapeutic efficacy, and long-term and systemic administration of cancer chemotherapy is accompanied by unpredictable side effects. Graphene oxide (GO)-based photothermal therapy (PTT) combined with chemotherapy has emerged as a rapid and immunogenic alternative, where near-infrared (NIR) irradiation triggers localized hyperthermia via tumor-targeting photothermal immunomodulatory nanomaterials. However, pristine GO nanosheets tend to aggregate under physiological conditions, compromising their photothermal performance. This study aims to develop a combinatorial regimen integrating GO-enhanced photothermal immunotherapy with chemotherapy for synergistic melanoma treatment.

We fabricated a novel photothermal nanomaterial through gallic acid(GA) modification of GO (GAGO), with comprehensive characterization including UV-Vis spectroscopy, FTIR, XRD, and TEM to verify successful synthesis. The photothermal conversion efficiency was systematically evaluated, along with an investigation of the combined therapeutic efficacy and underlying mechanisms of GAGO with paclitaxel for melanoma treatment.

In this study, GAGO was developed as a novel photothermal nanomaterial with enhanced dispersibility, superior stability, and reduced biotoxicity, which significantly improved the photothermal conversion efficiency of pristine GO. The synergistic combination of GA-GO-mediated photothermal therapy and paclitaxel chemotherapy effectively activated immune cells and potentiated T cell-mediated antitumor immunity, ultimately achieving remarkable tumor growth suppression.

We construct a synergistic platform of photothermal therapy, immunotherapy and chemotherapy, which provides a promising strategy for effective melanoma treatment.