AS1411-conjugated doxorubicin-loaded silver nanotriangles for targeted chemo-photothermal therapy of breast cancer

Background: Combination therapy has attracted tremendous interest for its great potential in treating cancers. Materials & methods: Based on chitosan-coated silver nanotriangles, polyethylene glycol, AS1411 aptamer and doxorubicin, a multifunctional nanocomposite (AS1411-DOX-AgNTs) was constructed and characterized. Then the photothermal properties, ability to target breast cancer cells and anti-breast cancer effect of AS1411-DOX-AgNTs were evaluated. Results: AS1411-DOX-AgNTs were successfully fabricated and showed excellent photothermal conversion efficiency, breast cancer cell and tumor targeting ability. Compared with single treatments, the combination of AS1411-DOX-AgNTs with near-infrared irradiation possessed the strongest anti-breast cancer effect in vitro and in vivo. Conclusion: AS1411-DOX-AgNTs hold great potential in targeted DOX delivery and combined chemo-photothermal therapy for breast cancer. This article focuses on nanomaterials, nanomedicine and photothermal therapy (PTT) to treat breast cancer. Nanomaterials refer to materials with at least one dimension in nanometer size (1-100 nanometers, or nm) or materials composed as basic units in a 3D space. Nanomedicine is the application of nanomaterials in medicine. Nanoparticles can deliver drugs to areas that are difficult for the drugs themselves to reach. PTT is a noninvasive tumor therapy that uses photothermal conversion agents to convert light energy into heat energy to kill tumor cells under the irradiation of external near-infrared (NIR) light. In recent years, combination therapy for cancers has drawn more and more attention. In the current study, we investigated the in vitro and in vivo anticancer effects of silver nanocomposites combined with chemotherapy and PTT. The prepared silver nanocomposites showed excellent physicochemical properties and possessed good anti-breast cancer efficacy combined with PTT and chemotherapy drug in vitro and in vivo. The results of this study demonstrated that these prepared silver nanocomposites had exceptional anti-breast cancer effects in combination with PTT and could be promising drug-loaded photothermal conversion agents. Targeted modified drug-loaded silver nanocomposites exhibit a significant anti-breast cancer effect combined with photothermal therapy.