NIR-triggered Synergetic Photothermal and Chemotherapy Cancer Treatment Based on SiO₂@Au@SiO₂@QDs-DOX Composite Structural Particles

This paper reports the synthesis of multi-layer SiO₂@Au@SiO₂@QDs nanoparticles with a dual-functionality of simultaneous heating and temperature sensing and their applications to in vitro chemo-thermal therapy. The heating is activated by a NIR-light through resonance excitation of surface plasma while in-situ thermal sensing is accomplished by the QDs photoluminescent (PL) effect. These dual function nanoparticles are used as a drug carrier for in vitro chemotherapy-photothermal co-treatment for malignant cells. A comparative study of drug release profiles was performed with and without 808 nm laser irradiation. The drug release rate was accelerated by a rise of temperature, which is induced by plasmonic heat generation associated with Au nanoshells; while the temperature change is monitored by the QD nanoparticles at the same time. The results showed that SiO₂@Au@SiO₂@QDs-DOX platform enabled the combination of local specific chemotherapy with external near-infrared (NIR) photothermal therapy and significantly improved the efficacy of cancer treatment. This combined treatment demonstrated synergistic chemotherapeutic-thermal effects compared to chemotherapy or photothermal therapy alone, resulting in higher efficacy.