Photothermal therapy (PTT) has emerged as a promising cancer therapeutic method. In this study, Arg-Gly-Asp (RGD) peptide-conjugated polydopamine-coated gold nanostars (Au@PDA-RGD NPs) were prepared for targeting PTT of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). A polydopamine (PDA) shell was coated on the surface of gold nanostars by the oxidative self-polymerization of dopamine (termed as Au@PDA NPs). Au@PDA NPs were further functionalized with polyethylene glycol and RGD peptide to improve biocompatibility as well as selectivity toward the HCC cells. Au@PDA-RGD NPs showed an intense absorption at 822 nm, which makes them suitable for near-infrared-excited PTT. Our results indicated that the Au@PDA-RGD NPs were effective for the PTT therapy of the αVβ3 integrin receptor-overexpressed HepG2 cells in vitro. Further antitumor mechanism studies showed that the Au@PDA-RGD NPs-based PTT induced human liver cancer cells death via the mitochondrial–lysosomal and autophagy pathways. In vivo experiments showed that Au@PDA-RGD NPs had excellent tumor treatment efficiency and negligible side effects. Thus, our study showed that Au@PDA-RGD NPs could offer an excellent nanoplatform for PTT of HCC.

中文翻译：

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整合素αvβ3靶向聚多巴胺涂层金纳米星用于肝细胞癌的光热消融治疗

光热疗法（PTT）已成为一种很有前途的癌症治疗方法。在这项研究中，制备了 Arg-Gly-Asp (RGD) 肽缀合的聚多巴胺涂层金纳米星 (Au@PDA-RGD NPs)，用于靶向肝细胞癌 (HCC) 的 PTT。通过多巴胺的氧化自聚合（称为 Au@PDA NPs），将聚多巴胺（PDA）壳包覆在金纳米星的表面。Au@PDA NPs 用聚乙二醇和 RGD 肽进一步功能化，以提高生物相容性以及对 HCC 细胞的选择性。Au@PDA-RGD NPs 在 822 nm 处显示出强烈的吸收，这使其适用于近红外激发 PTT。我们的结果表明，Au@PDA-RGD NPs 在体外对 αVβ3 整合素受体过表达的 HepG2 细胞进行 PTT 治疗是有效的。进一步的抗肿瘤机制研究表明，基于 Au@PDA-RGD NPs 的 PTT 通过线粒体-溶酶体和自噬途径诱导人肝癌细胞死亡。体内实验表明，Au@PDA-RGD NPs 具有出色的肿瘤治疗效率和可忽略的副作用。因此，我们的研究表明，Au@PDA-RGD NPs 可以为 HCC 的 PTT 提供出色的纳米平台。