A thermo-sensitive peptide hydrogel loaded with paclitaxel and antimony nanosheets for synergistic photothermal-chemotherapeutic treatment of breast cancer
Bo Yan, Ling Gu, Hajra Zafar, Aiping Shi, Hong Ge, Jin Yu, Nan Wang, Miao Wang, Binbin Liu, Yiqun Wu, Tianli Tian, Rongjie Ding
Abstract
Introduction: Breast cancer is one of the most common cancers in the world. Paclitaxel (PTX), a potent chemotherapeutic agent, is widely used in cancer treatment but suffers from poor aqueous solubility and systemic toxicity. Methods: In this study, we developed a thermo-sensitive peptide, TSP-5, which forms a stable hydrogel at 37 °C and dissociates upon heating to 45 °C to facilitate drug release. The hydrogel was co-loaded with PTX and photothermal agent antimony nanosheets (AM) for targeted delivery to tumor sites. Under near-infrared (NIR) laser irradiation, AM rapidly elevated the local temperature due to its high photothermal conversion efficiency, triggering hydrogel dissolution and subsequent PTX release. Simultaneously, AM-mediated photothermal therapy (PTT) contributed to tumor cell ablation. Results: studies demonstrated that the TSP-5 hydrogel significantly enhanced PTX solubility, reduced systemic toxicity, and improved anti-tumor efficacy. Discussion: The findings highlight its potential as a promising platform for localized drug delivery.