High near-infrared absorbing Cu5FeS4 nanoparticles for dual-modal imaging and photothermal therapy.

Multifunctional nanomaterials have shown excellent and promising properties for cancer diagnosis and treatment. Herein, we have developed iron doped copper sulfide (Cu5FeS4) nanoparticles with a non-covalent polyethylene glycol (PEG) coating (Cu5FeS4-PEG) for tumor dual-modal imaging and photothermal therapy (PTT). The obtained Cu5FeS4-PEG nanoparticles with high near-infrared absorbance could be used for phototoacoustic (PA) imaging and PTT, whereas Fe(3+) doping offer the nanoparticles the additional property for magnetic resonance (MR) imaging. As shown by PA imaging, Cu5FeS4-PEG exhibit a high tumor uptake (∼10% ID g(-1)) after intravenous injection. In vitro and in vivo cancer treatment further confirm that Cu5FeS4-PEG could act as a novel therapeutic agent for PTT of cancer cells. Our study further promotes the potential applications of multifunctional nanomaterials in a range of tumor diagnoses and treatments.