Ultrasmall and multifunctional nanoparticles are highly desirable for photothermal cancer therapy, but the synthesis of these nanoparticles remains a huge challenge. Here, we used a dendrimer as a template to synthesize ultrasmall photothermal agents and further modified them with multifunctional groups. Dendrimer-encapsulated nanoparticles (DENPs) including copper sulfide, platinum, and palladium nanoparticles possessed a sub-5 nm size and exhibited an excellent photothermal effect. DENPs were further modified with TAT or RGD peptides to facilitate their cellular uptake and targeting delivery to tumors. They were also decorated with fluorescent probes for real-time imaging and tracking of the particles' distribution. The in vivo study revealed RGD-modified DENPs efficiently reduced the tumor growth upon near-infrared irradiation. In all, our study provides a facile and flexible scaffold to prepare ultrasmall and multifunctional photothermal agents.
Keywords: cancer targeting; dendrimer; multifunctional; photothermal therapy; ultrasmall.