Although
photothermal therapy (PTT) has been extensively applied in the treatment of
cancer using various types of nanomaterials, low penetration of excitation light, low nanoparticle concentration enrichment and abominable nanoparticle permeation still remain huge obstacles in
cancer therapy. Herein, we synthesized stable
cupric sulfide nanoparticles (
CuS NPs) with small size, which after functionalization with a MnO2 coating, were employed for diagnosing and treating
tumors. After reacting with an
RGD peptide, the nanoparticles were able to target and focus on
tumor sites. Once the nanoparticles were enriched in
tumors by RGD targeting, the MnO2 coating decomposed to Mn2+
ions in the tumor microenvironment. Meanwhile, the decomposition of MnO2 allowed the dispersion of aggregated
CuS NPs to enter deep
tumors, and a 1064 nm
laser with powerful penetration was utilized to activate
CuS NPs in deep
tumors for PTT. More importantly, the generated Mn2+
ions were used for stimuli-enhanced T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (T1-MRI) and agminated
CuS NPs in
tumors were accepted for computed tomography (CT) imaging. It was found that these nanocomposites can accurately indicate
tumor sites after being intravenously injected, and in vitro and in vivo experiments illustrated the tremendous potential of these nanoplatforms for use in imaging-guided PTT against HepG2
tumors.