Functionalized hBN as targeted photothermal chemotherapy for complete eradication of cancer cells.

The development of combined anticancer therapeutic techniques has drawn increased attention for enhanced therapeutic efficacy. In this work, we synthesized Near Infrared (NIR) responsive ICG (I) functionalized hexagonal boron-nitride (hBN) as photothermal therapeutic agent (hBNI) and Doxorubicin (Dox)-conjugated Hyaluronic acid (HA) as tumor targeted chemotherapeutic agent (d-HA-Dox). Using adhesion properties of Dopamine (d), the hBNI has been integrated with d-HA-Dox to make a tumor targeted photothermal chemotherapeutic agent (hBNI/d-HA-Dox). The nanostructure of hBNI/d-HA-Dox has been studied using 1H NMR, FTIR, UV-vis-NIR and AFM images. Our in vitro results have provided evidence that hBNI/d-HA-Dox can efficiently damage targeted cancer cells while healthy cells are less affected suggesting that the targeted hBNI/d-HA-Dox nanoparticles work as a complementary antitumor agent with its synergistic co-therapeutic power.