CoFe(2)O(4)-Quantum Dots for Synergistic Photothermal/Photodynamic Therapy of Non-small-Cell Lung Cancer Via Triggering Apoptosis by Regulating PI3K/AKT Pathway

Non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) has become the second most diagnosed malignant tumors worldwide. As our long-term interests in seeking nanomaterials to develop strategies of cancer therapies, we herein constructed novel CoFe(2)O(4)-quantum dots (QDs) with outstanding synergistic photothermal/photodynamic property which suppressed NSCLC efficiently without apparent toxicity. We showed that the combination of CoFe(2)O(4)-QDs + NIR treatment induces apoptosis of NSCLC cells. In addition, the CoFe(2)O(4)-QDs + NIR treatment also promotes reactive oxygen species generation to trigger cell death through regulating PI3K/AKT pathway. Moreover, the CoFe(2)O(4)-QDs + NIR treatment successfully eliminates tumor xenografts in vivo without apparent toxic effects. Taken together, we reported that the novel nanomaterials CoFe(2)O(4)-QDs could exhibit enhanced synergistic photothermal therapy and photodynamic therapy effect on killing NSCLC without toxicity, which could be a promising photosensitizer for NSCLC therapy. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s11671-021-03580-5.