Devising Hyperthermia Doses for CsWO3 NP Core-Based N-Isopropylacrylamide Hydrogels as NIR-Activated Drug Release Triggers

Photothermally induced hyperthermia with safe, localized, and effective optical power densities is critically important to patients’ comfort level and safety in cancer therapeutic applications. This research study explores cesium tungsten oxide (CsWO3) NPs as the kernel of a drug-release nanocomposite that releases a cancer drug upon near-infrared irradiation. The nanocomposite was functionalized with thermo-sensitive hydrogels to upload Doxorubicin and Cisplatin, characterized and assessed for its therapeutic efficacies against the cancerous gastric cells and hepatocytes. The nanocomposites reached 40.5 °C in 15 min when irradiated at 500 mW/cm2 and respectively yielded 37% and 41% of release rates for Doxorubicin and Cisplatin over a span of 24 h. The analysis indicates that the nanocomposites effectively reduced the survival rates of the hepatocellular carcinoma cells and the cancerous gastric cells by 24.2% and 23.9% at 400~500 mW/cm2 while minimizing the damaging effects on the healthy cells by 24.3% when compared to those of pure substances. This work highlights the great potential of CsWO3 NP for constructing drug-release platforms with minimal optical power density and safe NP concentration.