Facile synthesis of soybean phospholipid-encapsulated MoS(2) nanosheets for efficient in vitro and in vivo photothermal regression of breast tumor

Two-dimensional MoS(2) nanosheet has been extensively explored as a photothermal agent for tumor regression; however, its surface modification remains a great challenge. Herein, as an alternative to surface polyethylene glycol modification (PEGylation), a facile approach based on “thin-film” strategy has been proposed for the first time to produce soybean phospholipid-encapsulated MoS(2) (SP-MoS(2)) nanosheets. By simply vacuum-treating MoS(2) nanosheets/soybean phospholipid/chloroform dispersion in a rotary evaporator, SP-MoS(2) nanosheet was successfully constructed. Owing to the steric hindrance of polymer chains, the surface-coated soybean phospholipid endowed MoS(2) nanosheets with excellent colloidal stability. Without showing detectable in vitro and in vivo hemolysis, coagulation, and cyto-/histotoxicity, the constructed SP-MoS(2) nanosheets showed good photothermal conversion performance and photothermal stability. SP-MoS(2) nanosheet was shown to be a promising platform for in vitro and in vivo breast tumor photothermal therapy. The produced SP-MoS(2) nanosheets featured low cost, simple fabrication, and good in vivo hemo-/histocompatibility and hold promising potential for future clinical tumor therapy.