Anchoring Pd nanoparticles on hollow CuS nanoparticles for enhanced NIR induced photothermal effects for chemotherapeutic drug delivery and gastric cancer treatment

Traditional cancer chemotherapy has resulted in nonspecific drug delivery, low cellular anticancer drug uptake, and severe side effects to normal tissues. Near-infrared (NIR)-responsive photothermal therapy has emerged as a new non-invasive cancer treatment with more controllable drug delivery, higher anticancer efficacy, and reduced side effects. Noble metal nanomaterials possess superior photothermal and optical properties, but the high cost and scarcity limit their applications in biomedical fields. Herein, we reported the synthesis of Pd nanoparticles anchored hollow CuS nanospheres (CuS/Pd composite) as drug carriers for NIR-induced drug delivery and cancer treatment. The CuS/Pd composite shows significantly enhanced photothermal properties in comparison with CuS. The cytotoxicity test indicates the high biocompatibility of CuS/Pd. Notably, the NIR-triggered effective and controllable release of loaded doxorubicin (DOX) under NIR laser irradiation is successfully demonstrated. A series of cell viability experiments show that the survival rate of cancer cells with CuS/Pd/TD/DOX is as low as ∼20%. In addition, the CuS/Pd composite exhibits excellent material stability. Therefore, this work sheds light on the design and synthesis of low-cost and effective drug carriers for enhanced NIR-induced drug delivery and cancer treatment.