Construction of ICG encapsulated W18O49@MSN as a fluorescence carrier for real-time tracked photothermal therapy

- (WO + ICG)@MSN could efficiently control WO shape without the need of surface modification due to its water-soluble of MSN.
- (WO + ICG)@MSN showed low cytotoxicity and good biocompatibility.
- (WO + ICG)@MSN led to accurate photothermal therapy under 808 nm NIR light irradiation through the tail vein injection.

Photothermal therapy (PTT) has drawn tremendous attention because of its high therapeutic efficiency in targeting cells while minimizing the damage to normal tissues and organs. Tungsten oxide (W18O49, WO) plays a pivotal role in PTT development and its use in PTT systems has been extensively studied. However, it is difficult to control morphology of WO through conventional hydrothermal method. Which make its related researches have been limited up to now. In this study, we describe the construction and effects on tumor of a novel nanoplatform based on WO and indocyanine green (ICG) loaded in mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSN) for dual-modal PTT and near-infrared imaging. (WO + ICG)@MSN could efficiently control WO shape without the need of surface modification due to its water-soluble of MSN. (WO + ICG)@MSN produced a PTT synergistic effect under irradiation of a single 808 nm near-infrared (NIR) laser. Notably, an enhanced lethal effect of the 808 nm laser triggering dual-modal therapy on B16 tumor cells was observed. The in vivo animal experiments showed that (WO + ICG)@MSN induced an effective solid tumor reduction under 808 nm NIR light irradiation, revealing the potential of these nanocomposites as a NIR-mediated dual-modal therapeutic platform for cancer treatment.