Functionalized biocompatible WO<inf>3</inf> nanoparticles for triggered and targeted in vitro and in vivo photothermal therapy

Abstract

We report on dopamine-conjugated hyaluronic acid (HA-D), a mussel-inspired facile capping material that can modify tungsten oxide (WO<inf>3</inf>) nanoparticles to be both biocompatible and targetable, allowing precise delivery (WO<inf>3</inf>-HA) to a tumor site. Near-infrared (NIR) irradiated WO<inf>3</inf>-HA showed a rapid and substantial rise in photothermal heat to complete in vitro thermolysis of malignant MDAMB and A549 cancer cellsbut was found to be relatively less sensitive to normal MDCK cells. A long-term in vivo investigation of ~10 nm HA thickness on WO<inf>3</inf> (WO<inf>3</inf>-HA) nanoparticles demonstrated efficient photo-thermal conversion with time-dependent tumor target accumulation. This long-term in vivo survival study ofWO<inf>3</inf>-HA showed promising biocompatibility with a complete recovery from malignant tumor. Due to the importance of keeping simplicity in the design of therapeutic nanoparticles, we therefore expect that this facile scheme (HA-D) would contribute to the biocompatible development of versatile metallic nanoparticles for photothermal applications. © 2015 Published by Elsevier B.V.