Near-Infrared Guided Thermal-Responsive Nanomedicine against Orthotopic Superficial Bladder Cancer.

Nanomedicines have shown great promise in increasing the efficacy and preventing adverse effects of drugs for bladder cancer. Here we sought to examine the effect of chemo-photothermal therapy on an orthotopic mouse model of superficial bladder cancer. Doxorubicin (DOX) was encapsulated in CS/PNIPAAm@SWCNTs nanoparticles. The biodistribution and antitumor effects of DOX-loaded nanoparticles were analyzed. DOX-loaded nanoparticles were accumulated in tumor cells upon near-infrared (NIR) irradiation and exhibited strong antitumor activity in mice bearing orthotopic bladder tumors. In addition, NIR-induced hyperthermia enhanced the permeability of tumor blood vessels, which presumably accounted for specific targeting of the nanomedicines to tumors. These results suggest that NIR-guided thermal-responsive nanomedicines are potentially applicable for chemo-photothermal therapy against orthotopic bladder tumors.