The integration of photothermal therapy (PTT) with radiation therapy (RT) in a single nanoscale platform is believed to have considerable potential for cancer therapy. In this work, the rationally designed PEGylated Au@Pt nanodendrites (NDs) have been developed as a novel X-ray computed tomography (CT) and PTT/RT enhanced theranostic agent for cancer therapy. The absorption of Au@Pt NDs was turned to the near-infrared region with the growth of Pt nanobranches and thus enhances the efficacy of PTT. Furthermore, because of the high atomic number (high Z) of Au as well as Pt, Au@Pt NDs significantly enhanced lethal effects of RT by inducing a highly localized radiation dose within cancer cells. More importantly, the combination of Au@Pt ND-enhanced RT with PTT suppressed cancer cell growth more efficiently than that RT or PTT alone did, indicating a synergistic effect. Meanwhile, the Au@Pt NDs also possess significant CT imaging signal enhancement that has the potential to guide PTT/RT for cancers. The integrated strategy significantly improved CT and PTT/RT of cancer cells with mild laser and radiation. Because of these advantages, Au@Pt NDs have become appealing and effective agents for cancer theranostic.
Keywords: Au@Pt nanodendrites; computed tomography; photothermal therapy; radiotherapy; synergistic effect.