Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a common chronic autoimmune disease that results from synovial hyperplasia. The hyperplasia of synovium directly degrades cartilage by secreting matrix-degrading enzymes and inducing cartilage degradation and even loss of joint function. In this study, a metal/semiconductor composite, octahedral copper sulfide shell, and gold nanorod core (Au NR@CuS) is designed for, photothermal therapy (PTT), photodynamic therapy (PDT), and chemotherapy (CT) combination therapy for RA to remove hyperplasia of the synovium. Upon laser irradiation, the coupling of the local surface electromagnetic field improves the electromagnetic field of the Au NR core and the absorption of light of the CuS shell, whereby the photothermal effect is enhanced. Due to the Fenton-like reactions and the integration of Au NR and CuS semiconductor photocatalyst inhibits hole recombination and provides a reaction site for photocatalysis, which introduces additional •OH to photodynamics therapy. In addition, the large octahedral void space in Au NR@CuS NPs can be used for loading a high quantity of drugs for chemotherapy, and modified with vasoactive intestinal peptide and hyaluronic acid (HA) formation VIP-HA-Au NR@CuS NPs to target synovial cells in RA. Under combination therapy, VIP-HA-Au NR@CuS NPs were shown to effectively inhibit the synovial cells and the edema degree of the CIA mouse was alleviated apparently. Both in vitro and in vivo studies indicate that the VIP-HA-Au NR@CuS NPs can provide a potential possibility for the treatment of RA.

类风湿性关节炎（RA）是一种常见的慢性自身免疫性疾病，由滑膜增生引起。滑膜增生直接通过分泌基质降解酶降解软骨，诱导软骨降解甚至丧失关节功能。在这项研究中，设计了一种金属/半导体复合材料、八面体硫化铜壳和金纳米棒核（Au NR@CuS），用于光热疗法（PTT）、光动力学治疗 (PDT) 和化学疗法 (CT) 联合治疗 RA 以去除滑膜增生。在激光照射下，局部表面电磁场的耦合改善了 Au NR 核的电磁场和 CuS 壳对光的吸收，从而增强了光热效应。由于类芬顿反应以及 Au NR 和 CuS 半导体光催化剂的整合，抑制了空穴复合并为光催化提供了反应位点，从而为光动力学治疗引入了额外的 •OH。此外，Au NR@CuS NPs 中的大八面体空隙空间可用于装载大量化疗药物，并用血管活性肠肽和透明质酸 (HA) 形成 VIP-HA-Au NR@CuS NPs 以靶向 RA 的滑膜细胞。在联合治疗下，VIP-HA-Au NR@CuS NPs 显示出有效抑制滑膜细胞，CIA 小鼠的水肿程度明显减轻。无论在体外和体内研究表明，VIP-HA-NR金硫化铜@纳米粒子可为RA的治疗的潜在可能性。