Functionalized graphene nanocomposites for enhancing photothermal therapy in tumor treatment

Graphene and its derivatives have unique physical and chemical properties that make them promising vehicles for photothermal therapy (PTT)-based cancer treatment. With intrinsic near-infrared (NIR) absorption properties, graphene-based nanomaterials can be used for PTT and other therapeutics, particularly in combination therapy, to provide successful thermal ablation of cancer cells. In the recent years, advances in graphene-based PTT have produced efficient and efficacious tumor inhibition via nanomaterial structural design and different functionalizations of graphene-derived nanocomposites. Graphene-based nanosystems exhibit multifunctional properties that are useful for PTT applications including enhancement of multimodalities, guided imaging, enhanced chemotherapy and low-power efficient PTT for optimum therapeutic efficiency. Therefore, in this review, we address critical issues and future aspects of PTT-based combination therapy.