Near-infrared light-responsive nano- and micro-platforms for cancer combination therapy

Chapter 1 provides a historical overview of modern laser-enabled phototherapy in clinical oncology, tracing its evolution profoundly from ancient heliotherapy to cutting-edge nanoparticle (NP)-mediated approaches. Then it introduces the mechanisms of phototherapy, mainly photothermal therapy (PTT) and photodynamic therapy (PDT). Chapter 2 reviewed the immunotherapy platform based on porous silicon NPs (PSiNPs) and porous silica NPs. Owing to their high surface area, tunable porous structure, easy surface modification, intrinsic immunogenicity and biodegradability, they are promising carriers for antigen delivery. Chapter 3 introduces a biomimetic nanovaccine fabricated via coating NIR light-responsive, photothermal PSiNPs@Au NPs-cores with cancer cell membrane (CCM). This structure enables strong specific tumor immune activation while minimizing systemic inflammation due to the weak immunostimulatory PSiNPs@Au NPs-cores. Chapter 4 presents an injectable bimetallic microsphere depot fabricated via microfluidics and photocrosslinking, denoted as HTAI. Designed for staged release, the depot first released Fe3+ to introduce ferroptosis, catalytically generate O2, and cause redox stress to sensitize the tumor for following treatments. The incorporated Au NPs remained inside the HTAI microsphere depot to provide sustained photothermal potency under NIR laser irradiation. Chapter 5 introduces a nano-in-micro microsphere depot designed for aggressive triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) local treatment, called cPAG. The cPAG integrates high conductivity, NIR light-triggered photothermal heating (brought by Au@GelMA microspheres), O2 and ROS generation (catalyzed by loaded manganese oxide nanoflowers), and innate immunity activation (triggered by co-loaded agonist).