A tumor-penetrable drug nanococktail made from human histones for interventional nucleus-targeted chemophotothermal therapy of drug-resistant tumors.

Nanoparticle-based chemophotothermal therapy (CPT) is a promising treatment for multidrug resistant tumors. In this study, a drug nanococktail of DIR825@histone was developed by employing doxorubicin (DOX), NIR dye IR825 and human histones for interventional nucleus-targeted CPT of multidrug resistant tumors with an interventional laser. After localized intervention, DIR825@histone penetrated tumor tissues by transcytosis, efficiently entered tumor cells and targeted the cell nuclei. DIR825@histone also exhibited good photothermal performance and thermal-triggered drug release. Efficient multidrug resistant tumor inhibition was achieved by enhanced CPT sensitization and MDR reversion via nuclear targeting. Moreover, an interventional laser assisted DIR825@histone in inhibiting multidrug resistant tumors by promoting the sufficient delivery of laser energy inside the tumor while reducing skin injury. Therefore, DIR825@histone together with this interventional nucleus-targeted CPT strategy holds great promise for treating multidrug resistant tumors.