Bifunctional Carbon‐Dot‐WS2 Nanorods for Photothermal Therapy and Cell Imaging

Multifunctional nanoparticles have attracted significant interest as biomedical vehicles which combine diagnostics, imaging, and therapeutics. We describe the construction of new nanoparticle conjugates comprising WS2 nanorods (NRs) coupled to fluorescent carbon dots (C-dots). We show that the WS2-C-dot hybrids integrate the unique physical properties of the two species, specifically photothermal activity of the WS2 NRs upon irradiation with near infrared (NIR) light, and excitation-dependent luminescence emission of the C-dots. The WS2-C-dot NRs were not cytotoxic and were successfully employed for multicolor cell imaging and targeted cell killing through NIR irradiation, pointing to their potential utilization as effective therapeutic vehicles.