Versatile Nanoplatform Loaded with Doxorubicin and Graphene Quantum Dots/Methylene Blue for Drug Delivery and Chemophotothermal/Photodynamic Synergetic Cancer Therapy

A versatile platform for nanodrug delivery and synergetic therapy is a promising therapeutic pattern for antitumor treatment in clinical biology. Here, we innovatively encapsulated graphene quantum dots (GQDs) or methylene blue (MB) together with doxorubicin (DOX) into the cores of poly lactic-co-glycolic acid (PLGA) nanoparticles coated with bovine serum albumin (BSA) based on the emulsion method to synthesize core-shell structure nanoparticles (GQDs@DOX/PB and MB@DOX/PB NPs). The GQDs@DOX/PB NPs exhibited excellent photothermal properties and stability under 808 nm laser irradiation. The in vitro chemophotothermal synergetic experiments manifested that the GQDs@DOX/PB NPs effectively cause the thermal ablation of tumor cells under NIR laser irradiation. Meanwhile, the in vitro chemophotodynamic synergetic experiments revealed that the MB@DOX/PB NPs could produce reactive oxygen species and showed outstanding antitumor efficacy under 660 nm laser irradiation. Consequently, the pH-responsive multifunctional nanoparticles prepared by a facile strategy have a high tumor cell-killing efficacy, manifesting excellent potential in synergistic therapy.