NIR photoresponsive drug delivery and synergistic chemo-photothermal therapy by monodispersed-MoS2-nanosheets wrapped periodic mesoporous organosilicas

Two-dimensional (2D) MoS2 nanosheets have attracted increasing attention in recent years owing to their various fascinating properties, particularly excellent near-infrared (NIR) photothermal feature. In this study, we synthesized a novel NIR-light-triggered drug-delivery system by wrapping MoS2 nanosheets around doxorubicin (Dox)-loaded periodic mesoporous organosilicas (PMOs) and then decorating with polyethylene glycol (PEG) to form a PMO–Dox@MoS2–PEG nanoplatform for the first time. The obtained PMO–Dox@MoS2–PEG nanoplatforms had a uniform diameter (326 nm), high Dox loading capacity (160 μg mg−1 PMOs), excellent photothermal transformation ability, and good dispersibility in physiological conditions. Note that the Dox was almost completely blocked in the PMO–Dox@MoS2–PEG nanoplatforms, and the photothermal effect of the MoS2 nanosheets could efficiently trigger the release of Dox under an 808 nm laser irradiation. Simultaneously, the PMO–Dox@MoS2–PEG nanoplatforms realized a combined chemotherapy and photothermal therapy for liver cancer cells and breast cancer cells upon NIR laser irradiation. Compared with the single photothermal therapy or chemotherapy, the combined treatment had an improved synergistic therapeutic efficacy. We believe the NIR-light-triggered drug-delivery system with synergistic chemo-photothermal therapeutic property provides a promising strategy for cancer treatment.