NIR-laser-triggered drug release from folate decorated albumin nanoparticles for synergistic chemo-photothermal tumor therapy

Photothermal therapy as a physical therapeutic approach for the localized ablation of malignant tissues has greatly attracted research interests due to its negligible systemic effects. Among various photosensitizer, IR-780 iodide as a near-infrared (NIR) fluorescent dye which is limited its further applicability in the clinic due to its low bioavailability. In this work, we developed folic acid (FA) modified bovine serum albumin (BSA) nanoparticles (FA-DINPs) that co-encapsulated chemotherapeutic compound (doxorubicin) and IR-780 for synergistic chemo-photothermal therapy using a modified desolvation method, which would facilitate clinical translation. The achieved FA-DINPs were in the size of 178 +/- 5.82 nm and showed excellent photothermal effect. Furthermore, the FA-DINPs could increase drug release by laser irradiation, and enhanced cellular uptake through the FA receptor-mediated endocytosis. Our results also demonstrated that FA-DINPs exhibited remarkable cytotoxicity to cells upon NIR laser irradiation. Moreover, after laser irradiation, FA-DINPs achieved minimal systemic toxicity and high tumor inhibition efficacy without any regrowth in vivo. Therefore, our study provided a promising strategy for cancer synergistic chemo-photothermal therapy.