Intrinsic, Cancer Cell-Selective Toxicity of Organic Photothermal Nanoagent: A Simple Formulation for Combined Photothermal Chemotherapy of Cancer

Nano-agent-mediated photothermal therapy (PTT) combined with chemotherapy has been proposed as an effective strategy against cancer. However, chemotherapeutic agents often cause serious side effects. Herein, a novel PTT nanoagent (Cy5.5–MSA–G250) with unanticipated intrinsic tumor-selective cytotoxicity is developed. The Cy5.5–MSA–G250 nanoparticles (NPs) are created by mixing mouse serum albumin (MSA) and coomassie brilliant blue (G250) and then conjugated with cyanine 5.5 (Cy5.5). As expected, Cy5.5–MSA–G250 NPs can efficiently kill cancer cells in vitro and in vivo by PTT. Meanwhile, we accidentally discover that Cy5.5–MSA–G250 have intrinsic specific cytotoxicity against tumor cells but not against normal cells. Moreover, the tumor-specific cytotoxicity of Cy5.5–MSA–G250 is much stronger than that of cytarabine, an FDA-approved anticancer drug. In vivo experiments also prove that Cy5.5–MSA–G250 NPs can effectively eliminate residual tumor cells and prevent metastasis. Further study indicates that selective induction of G1 cell cycle arrest and inhibition of DNA duplication in tumor cells may be the possible mechanism of the tumor cell-selective cytotoxicity of Cy5.5–MSA–G250 NPs. In addition, direct visualization, low systematic toxicity, good biodegradation, and efficient body excretion further make Cy5.5–MSA–G250 NPs attractive for in vivo applications. Taken together, Cy5.5–MSA–G250 NPs are proven to be a promising platform for combined photothermal chemotherapy