Two-Dimensional MXenes Surface Engineering Nanoplatform for PTT-Chemotherapy Synergistic Tumor Therapy.

BACKGROUND: Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) has a high early recurrence rate and poor prognosis. Given its insensitivity to traditional systemic chemotherapy, there is an urgent need for new therapeutic strategies for effective treatment. This paper reports the development of a novel two-dimensional MXene composite nanoplatform for efficient synergistic chemotherapy and photothermal therapy of TNBC. RESULTS: To achieve surface functionalization of MXene, we developed a surface nanopore engineering strategy, enabling the uniform coating of a thin mesoporous silica layer on the two-dimensional Ti(3)C(2) MXene surface. This strategy endows MXenes with well-defined mesopores for on-demand drug release/delivery and enhanced hydrophilicity/dispersibility. Systematic in vitro and in vivo evaluations demonstrate that Ti(3)C(2)@MSNs have high active targeting capability upon entering tumors, and through the synergistic chemotherapy of the mesoporous shell and the photothermal therapy of the Ti(3)C(2) MXene core, tumors can be completely eradicated with no significant recurrence. CONCLUSION: This study provides a new strategy for developing MXene-based composite nano drug delivery systems to effectively combat TNBC.