NIR‐triggered Synergetic Photothermal and Chemotherapy Cancer Treatment Based on SiO₂@Au@SiO₂@QDs‐DOX Composite Structural Particles

Abstract This paper reports the synthesis of multi‐layer SiO₂@Au@SiO₂@QDs nanoparticles with a dual‐functionality of simultaneous heating and temperature sensing and their applications to in vitro chemo‐thermal therapy. The heating is activated by a NIR‐light through resonance excitation of surface plasma while in‐situ thermal sensing is accomplished by the QDs photoluminescent (PL) effect. These dual function nanoparticles are used as a drug carrier for in vitro chemotherapy‐photothermal co‐treatment for malignant cells. A comparative study of drug release profiles was performed with and without 808 nm laser irradiation. The drug release rate was accelerated by a rise of temperature, which is induced by plasmonic heat generation associated with Au nanoshells; while the temperature change is monitored by the QD nanoparticles at the same time. The results showed that SiO₂@Au@SiO₂@QDs‐DOX platform enabled the combination of local specific chemotherapy with external near‐infrared (NIR) photothermal therapy and significantly improved the efficacy of cancer treatment. This combined treatment demonstrated synergistic chemotherapeutic‐thermal effects compared to chemotherapy or photothermal therapy alone, resulting in higher efficacy.