Black phosphorus nanosheets-based tumor microenvironment responsive multifunctional nanosystem for highly efficient photo-/sono-synergistic therapy of non-Hodgkin lymphoma

Finding improved therapeutic protocols against non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) remains an unmet clinical demand. Phototherapy is a promising alternative treatment for traditional clinical therapeutic methods, but the limited tissue penetration blocks the therapeutics. Inspired by the excellent physical and chemical properties of black phosphorus nanosheets (BPNSs), a fluorescence and thermal imaging guided photo-/sono-synergistic treatment platform BPNSs@PEG-SS-IR780/RGD is developed. This ingenious multifunctional theranostic platform not only exhibits outstanding photothermal conversion efficiency and highly efficient reactive oxygen species generation, but also has good biocompatibility, tumor-targeting and tumor microenvironment responsiveness. In addition, BPNSs@PEG-SS-IR780/RGD could actively target the tumor sites and generate excellent photothermal, photodynamic and sonodynamic therapeutic efficacy. Both in vitro and in vivo experiments indicate that BPNSs@PEG-SS-IR780/RGD can be a promising nanomaterial for NHL imaging and therapy. Taken together, this study not only expands the application field of black phosphorus materials, but also provides a possibility to design a new generation of NHL treatment regimens with clinical application potential.