Hydrophobic IR780 loaded sericin nanomicelles for phototherapy with enhanced antitumor efficiency.

The near-infrared dye, IR780 iodide, has been utilized in photodynamic therapy (PDT) and photothermal therapy (PTT). However, the hydrophobicity and photosensitivity of IR780 limit its further applications in biomedical fields. Herein, the hydrophilic sericin was modified with hydrophobic cholesterol to form an amphiphilic macromolecular conjugate (Ser-Chol). The tumor-targeting agent, folic acid (FA), was further linked to the conjugate (FA-Ser-Chol). The IR780 could be encapsulated into such amphiphilic macromolecule to form stable micelles (FA-Ser-Chol/IR780) by self-assembly, and the solubility and photo-stability of IR780 were greatly improved. The FA-Ser-Chol/IR780 micelles could be efficiently absorbed by FA-positive gastric cancer cells (BGC-823) through FA receptors, while the uptake micelles showed remarkable PDT and PTT cytotoxicity towards BGC-823 cells under laser irradiation of 808 nm. Therefore, FA-Ser-Chol micelles may serve as a promising IR780 carrier for PDT and PTT therapy.