Carrier-Free Cur/DTX@ICG Ternary Nanoparticles for Suppressing Lung Metastasis in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer

Chemotherapy for advanced breast cancer may promote metastatic progression through inflammatory responses. To address this challenge, we developed carrier-free Cur/DTX@ICG nanoparticles via molecular co-assembly, achieving a high drug-loading capacity of 66.7%. This theranostic platform integrates docetaxel, curcumin, and indocyanine green for chemotherapy, anti-inflammatory chemosensitization, and fluorescence imaging. Cur/DTX@ICG effectively inhibited triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) cell proliferation and migration in vitro. In vivo, it suppressed subcutaneous tumor growth by 74.5% and achieved 77.1% inhibition of postoperative lung metastasis while prolonging survival. Mechanistically, Cur/DTX@ICG attenuated chemotherapy-associated inflammatory responses by reducing serum TNF-α, IL-6, and IL-1β levels, suppressing nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) activation, and partially reversing epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) progression. These findings suggest that Cur/DTX@ICG represents a promising carrier-free strategy for suppressing inflammation-associated metastatic progression in TNBC.