Gold nanorods with a hematoporphyrin-loaded silica shell for dual-modality photodynamic and photothermal treatment of tumors in vivo

Nanocomposites (NCs) consisting of a gold nanorod core and a mesoporous silica shell doped with hematoporphyrin (HP) have been fabricated in order to improve the efficiency of cancer treatment by combining photothermal and photodynamic therapies (PDT + PTT) in vivo. In addition to the long-wavelength plasmon resonance near 810–830 nm, the fabricated NCs exhibited a 400-nm absorbance peak corresponding to bound HP, generated singlet oxygen under 633-nm excitation near the 632.5-nm Q-band, and produced heat under a 808-nm near-infrared (NIR) laser irradiation. These modalities were used for a combined PDT + PTT treatment of large (about 3 cm³) solid tumors in vivo with a xenorafted tumor rat model. NCs were directly injected into tumors and irradiated simultaneously with 633-nm and 808-nm lasers to stimulate the combined photodynamic and photothermal activities of NCs. The efficiency of the combined therapy was evaluated by optical coherence tomography, histological analysis, and by measurements of the tumor volume growth during a 21-day period. The NC-mediated PDT led to weak changes in tissue histology and to a moderate 20% decrease in the tumor volume. In contrast, the combined PDT + PTT treatment resulted in the large-area tumor necrosis and led to dramatic decrease in the tumor volume.