Self-Assembled Gold Nanoparticle–Lipid Nanocomposites for On-Demand Delivery, Tumor Accumulation, and Combined Photothermal–Photodynamic Therapy

In this study, a distinct photoamenable nanoparticle-based drug delivery system was developed for highly efficient targeted on-demand delivery, fluorescence imaging, and therapy by incorporating zinc phthalocyanine (ZnPc) and gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) into liposomes. The hyperthermia, produced by AuNPs under LED light irradiation, enhanced the liquidity of liposomal membrane and promoted the instantaneous release of ZnPc from the carriers realizing the concept of on-demand release. In addition, the local hyperthermia also resulted in thermal damage of cancer cells along with photodynamic effect and achieved a synergetic effect of photodynamic and photothermal therapy. The developed probes showed a high breast cancer carcinoma cells (MCF-7 cell line) inhibition up to 86.7% under red light irradiation. Further, in vivo experiments suggested the high tumor accumulation as well as the antitumor effect in breast tumor-bearing female Sprague–Dawley (SD) rats. The outcomes demonstrate the capability of these probes as a novel drug delivery system to codeliver therapeutic agents with photothermal agents and will have an enormous potential for future diagnosis and therapy