Issue 21, 2019

Multifunctional and flexible ZrO2-coated EGaIn nanoparticles for photothermal therapy

Abstract

With extensive investigations involving liquid metals (LMs), Ga-based LMs have attracted increasing attention from biomedical researchers because of their good biocompatibility, ideal fluidity, and high thermal conductivity. LMs employed in cancer treatment suffer from high surface tension, thereby yielding unstable nanoparticles (NPs). Here, ZrO2 is coated onto LM NPs to form a stable core–shell nanostructure. In particular, LM NPs coated with ZrO2 and modified by PEG (LM@pZrO2 NPs) still maintain favorable flexibility, which is beneficial for cellular uptake. With regard to the photothermal properties of LM, LM@pZrO2 NPs rapidly warm up and emit the requisite amount of heat under NIR laser radiation. It is confirmed that LM@pZrO2 NPs are more effectively internalized by cells and are beneficial for tumor photothermal therapy. This research provides a coating strategy to fabricate a stable and flexible core–shell LM nanostructure, making it a promising vehicle for nanotheranostics.

Graphical abstract: Multifunctional and flexible ZrO2-coated EGaIn nanoparticles for photothermal therapy

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Communication
Submitted
05 Mar 2019
Accepted
03 May 2019
First published
06 May 2019

Nanoscale, 2019,11, 10183-10189

Author version available

Multifunctional and flexible ZrO2-coated EGaIn nanoparticles for photothermal therapy

N. Xia, N. Li, W. Rao, J. Yu, Q. Wu, L. Tan, H. Li, L. Gou, P. Liang, L. Li and X. Meng, Nanoscale, 2019, 11, 10183 DOI: 10.1039/C9NR01963D

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