Naturally occurring nanotube with surface modification as biocompatible, target-specific nanocarrier for cancer phototherapy

Abstract Phototherapy has drawn increasing attention including the use of nanocarriers with high drug loading capacity and delivery efficacy for target-specific therapy. We have made use of naturally-occurring halloysite nanotubes (HNTs) to build a biomimetic nanocarrier platform for target-specific delivery of phototherapeutic agents. The HNTs were decorated with poly(sodium- p -styrenesulfonate) (PSS) to enhance the biocompatibility, and were further functionalized by lumen loading the type-II photosensitizer indocyanine green (ICG). The HNT-PSS-ICG nanocarrier, without further tethering targeting groups, was shown to associate with the membrane of giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs) via Pickering effects. Application of HNT-PSS-ICG nanocarrier to human breast cancer cells gave rise to a cell mortality as high as 95%. The HNT-PSS-ICG nanocarrier was further coated with MDA-MB-436 cell membranes to endow it with targeting therapy performance against breast cancer, which was confirmed by in vivo experiments using breast cancer tumors in mice. The membrane-coated and biocompatible nanocarrier preferentially concentrated in the tumor tissue, and efficiently decreased the tumor volume by a combination of photodynamic and photothermal effects upon near-infrared light exposure. Our results demonstrate that the HNT-based nanocarrier by virtue of facial preparation and high loading capacity can be a promising candidate for membrane-targeting nanocarriers.