Cancer cell targeting and photothermal therapy of theranostics from multifunctional tissue engineering scaffolds

Abstract

Scaffold-based tissue engineering regenerates tissues at original tumor sites after tumor removal. But high cancer recurrence rates threaten post-surgery cancer patients. Multifunctional tissue engineering scaffolds for both tissue regeneration and detection and treatment for recurring cancer are therefore required. Theranostics are nanodevices providing cancer diagnostic and therapeutic functions. Au-based theranostics have many advantages and provide photothermal therapy. In this study, folic acid-chitosan-capped gold (Au@CS-FA) nanoparticles as theranostics were encapsulated in PLGA50/50 microspheres via co-axial electrospray. These microspheres were incorporated into nanofibrous PLGA75/25 scaffolds during electrospinning. Controlled release of theranostics occurred when microspheres broke through biodegradation. Cancer cell targeting and photothermal therapy were studied using HeLa cells. It was shown theranostics bounded to HeLa cells rather than MCF-7 cells (the control). Cells treated with theranostics released from scaffolds were irradiated by a NIR laser and Live/Dead viability tests revealed high death rates of HeLa cells due to heat generated by theranostics.