Tumor-Targeted PLGA Nanospheres Enhance Therapeutic Effect of Lenvatinib in Hepatocellular Carcinoma via Photothermal and Photodynamic Therapy

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most prevalent and aggressive forms of liver cancer, with limited therapeutic options and a high recurrence rate. Traditional treatments include surgery and systemic therapy, but systemic therapy has side effects, such as poor specificity, systemic toxicity, and drug resistance. Herein, we designed a multimodal diagnostic and therapeutic-integrated nanosphere for packaging and delivering lenvatinib (LVN). The system was constructed using a PLGA-PEG polymer and modified by cyclic peptide cRGD with high selectivity and affinity for cancer cell integrins. Next, the system was loaded with lenvatinib (LVN) and IR780 photosensitizer, providing a satisfactory basis for photodynamic therapy/photothermal therapy (PDT/PTT) treatment. The nanoparticles could actively and passively target HCC cells and hydrolyze them in an acidic environment to release photosensitizers and LVN, which played significant roles in diminishing tumor cells. After 808 nm laser irradiation, the PDT and PTT effects induced by IR780 synergistically increased the function of LVN by inducing ferroptosis and apoptosis. In addition, in vivo and in vitro experiments showed that PPR@LVN/IR780 nanoparticles could inhibit the growth of tumors under 808 nm laser irradiation without obvious damage to other organs. At the same time, we also used high-throughput sequencing technology to further explore the underlying mechanisms of the nanoparticles. This work not only provided a liver-targeted drug delivery strategy based on first-line systemic therapy drugs but also provided an efficient and synergistic visualization imaging method for fluorescence imaging (FLI), photoacoustic imaging (PAI), and photothermal imaging (PTI) to realize integrated multimodal diagnosis and treatment.