Gao, Z., Mansor, M.H., Howard, F. orcid.org/0000-0001-9899-3079 et al. (3 more authors) (2025) Microfluidic-assisted silk nanoparticles co-loaded with epirubicin and copper sulphide: a synergistic photothermal–photodynamic chemotherapy against breast cancer. Nanomaterials, 15 (3). 221. ISSN 2079-4991
Abstract
Phototherapy, including photodynamic therapy (PDT) and photothermal therapy (PTT), has emerged as a promising non-invasive cancer treatment, addressing issues like drug resistance and systemic toxicity common in conventional breast cancer therapies. Recent research has shown that copper sulphide (CuS) nanoparticles and polydopamine (PDA) exhibit exceptional photothermal conversion efficiency under 808 nm near-infrared (NIR) laser irradiation, making them valuable for cancer phototherapy. However, the effectiveness of PDT is limited in hypoxic tumour environments, which are common in many breast cancer types, due to its reliance on local oxygen levels. Moreover, single-modality approaches, including phototherapy, often prove insufficient for complete tumour elimination, despite their therapeutic strength. In this paper, a microfluidic-assisted approach was used to create multifunctional silk-based nanoparticles (SFNPs) encapsulating the chemotherapeutic drug Epirubicin (EPI), the PTT/PDT agent CuS, and the heat-activated, oxygen-independent alkyl radical generator AIPH for combined chemotherapy, PTT, and PDT, with a polydopamine (PDA) coating for enhanced photothermal effects and surface-bound folic acid (FA) for targeted delivery in breast cancer treatment. The synthesised CuS-EPI-AIPH@SF-PDA-FA nanoparticles achieved a controlled size of 378 nm, strong NIR absorption, and high photothermal conversion efficiency. Under 808 nm NIR irradiation, these nanoparticles selectively triggered the release of alkyl radicals and EPI, improving intracellular drug levels and effectively killing various breast cancer cell lines while demonstrating low toxicity to non-cancerous cells. We demonstrate that novel core–shell CuS-EPI-AIPH@SF-PDA-FA NPs have been successfully designed as a multifunctional nanoplatform integrating PTT, PDT, and chemotherapy for targeted, synergistic breast cancer treatment.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2025 The Authors. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. |
Keywords: | phototherapy; photodynamic therapy; copper sulphide; Epirubicin; microfluidics; nanoparticles |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health (Sheffield) > School of Medicine and Population Health The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Engineering (Sheffield) > School of Chemical, Materials and Biological Engineering The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health (Sheffield) |
Funding Information: | Funder Grant number Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council EP/Z53304X/1 |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 11 Feb 2025 14:10 |
Last Modified: | 11 Feb 2025 14:10 |
Published Version: | https://doi.org/10.3390/nano15030221 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | MDPI AG |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.3390/nano15030221 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:223133 |