PVP-coated Sb2Se3 nanorods as nanotheranostic agents for photoacoustic imaging and photothermal therapy in NIR-I bio-windows

Antimony selenide (Sb₂Se₃) as a simple, low toxicity, low-cost p-type semiconductor material with broad absorbance ranging from the UV to the NIR region has many potential applications in photovoltaic, thermoelectric, and phase-change memory devices. Owing to these excellent properties, Sb₂Se₃ nanorods were firstly synthesized with triphenylantimony and dibenzyldiselenide under solvothermal conditions. In order to enhance the biocompatibility of the Sb₂Se₃ nanorods, polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) was coated onto the surface of the Sb₂Se₃ nanorods to form PVP-coated Sb₂Se₃ nanorods. The cell viability of PVP-coated Sb₂Se₃ nanorods toward Hep-2 cells was assessed for 24 h using a Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) assay. The results showed that Hep-2 cells treated with PVP-coated Sb₂Se₃ nanorods were alive at a concentration as high as 100 μg mL⁻¹ in the absence of NIR irradiation. In vivo assessment confirmed that PVP-coated Sb₂Se₃ nanorods exhibited excellent photoacoustic imaging and PTT performance, which yielded complete ablation of tumors after laser irradiation (808 nm or 980 nm) in the NIR-I bio-window.

Herein we reported a biocompatible PVP-coated Sb₂Se₃ nanorods as PTT nanotheranostic agent, which is responsive to the light (808 and 980 nm) in NIR-I bio-windows and effective for photoacoustic imaging and photothermal destruction of cancer cell.