Polypyrrole-based nanotheranostics for activatable fluorescence imaging and chemo/photothermal dual therapy of triple-negative breast cancer.

Here, we fabricated polypyrrole nanoparticles (PPys) (termed HA10-PPy, HA20-PPy, and HA40-PPy) doped with different average molecular weight hyaluronic acids (HAs) (10, 20, and 40 kDa, respectively), and evaluated the effect of molecular weight of doped HA on photothermal induction, fluorescence quenching, and drug loading efficiencies. Doxorubicin-loaded HA-doped PPys (DOX@HA-PPys) could be used for imaging and therapy of triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). Fluorescence turn-on, stimuli-responsive drug release, and photo-induced heating of DOX@HA-PPys enabled not only activatable fluorescence imaging but also subsequent chemo/photothermal dual therapy for TNBC. In particular, we illustrated the potential usefulness of the photothermal effect of the nanoparticles for overcoming chemoresistance in TNBC.