Fabrication of docetaxel-loaded copper oxide-polydopamine-nanosystem for improved chemo/photothermal/photodynamic therapy in laryngeal cancer.

The integration of near-infrared (NIR) laser phototherapy with chemotherapy in a synergistic multimodal approach holds significant potential for future nanomedicine applications across various tumors, owing to its lower invasiveness, diminished adverse effects, and enhanced antitumor efficacy. In this study, copper oxide nanoparticles (CO NPs) were functionalized with the chlorin e6 (C6) photosensitizer and coated with polydopamine (PD) to develop a nanosystem (CO@C6-PD) for photodynamic and photothermal therapy (PDT/PTT). Subsequently, the chemotherapeutic agent docetaxel (DT) was incorporated, with folic acid (FA) utilized as a targeted material for laryngeal cancer. The developed FA@CO@C6-PD/DT NPs exhibited a nanoscale diameter, excellent surface charge, efficient DT loading, colloidal stability, cytocompatibility, and regulated DT release. Investigations on TU212 laryngeal cancer cells demonstrated that the FA@CO@C6-PD/DT exhibited significant synergistic antitumor effects via chemo/PDT/PTT, with an IC50 of 49 μg/mL, markedly less than the 225 μg/mL observed without NIR laser exposure. Furthermore, FA@CO@C6-PD/DT generated elevated reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels upon exposure to a 660 nm laser (2 W/cm2 for 6 min), leading to alterations in mitochondrial membrane potential and facilitating tumor cell death in TU212 cells. Collectively, the results suggest that FA@CO@C6-PD/DT may serve as a compelling nanoplatform for combination therapy involving chemotherapy, PTT, and PDT in laryngeal cancer.