Bio-engineered cancer cell membrane and chitosan-coated core-shell SiO₂@au nanoparticles co-loaded with sophoridine for targeted chemo-photodynamic therapy of gastric adenocarcinoma cells: In vitro and in vivo analysis.

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is an innovative and increasingly effective method for treating cancer. However, the nanomaterials used in this approach still lack the required biocompatibility and tumor targeting efficiency needed for clinical application. In this study, a SiO2@Au core-shell nanoparticle loaded with Sophoridine (SAP) was designed, featuring a chitosan (CS)-coated surface that was further modified with a cancer cell membrane (CCM) layer to enhance biocompatibility, cellular uptake, and ultimately improve photodynamic therapy (PDT) efficacy. The PDT method was enhanced by the SiO2@Au core-shell structure, which generates reactive oxygen species (ROS) upon exposure to light. The chitosan coating makes the drug delivery system stable and pH-responsive. The CCM coating helps with tumor targeting and immune evasion. SAP works in tandem with PDT to induce apoptosis. This approach provided an effective, selective, and minimally invasive treatment strategy for gastric adenocarcinoma (GA), demonstrating efficient cellular uptake and significant photodynamic effects under low-dose light irradiation in in vitro experiments. In addition, tumor-bearing BALB/c mice were used in in vivo photo-dynamic tests, which showed that the SiO2@Au-CS-SAP/CCM seems to inhibit the growth of solid tumors without damaging the vital organs. Our findings indicate that SiO2@Au-CS-SAP/CCM shows great promise as a photodynamic cancer treatment.