Advanced nanomaterials for photothermal therapy in 3D cell models

Despite significant advances in cancer therapy, cancer remains a major cause of death worldwide. In the last years, there has been increasing interest in the development of new treatment modalities with reduced side effects for difficult-to-cure cancers. One of the most promising examples is photothermal therapy (PTT), designed to selectively kill cancerous tissue through localized, light-induced thermal stress. The efficiency of this thermal treatment can be drastically increased by using nanomaterials, in particular gold nanoparticles. However, only few nanomaterial-mediated PTT have reached clinical trials and knowledge concerning the efficiency, mechanism and toxicity of NP-mediated hyperthermia remains limited. Ideal platforms for this kind of studies are multicellular tumor spheroids. Nevertheless, in these 3D models, nanoparticle internalization and penetration are drastically reduced compared to the 2D cellular monolayer, impeding consistent investigation. Here, we propose an alternative strategy to perform fundamental studies of PTT in spheroids by using our innovative silver nanowire-based endoscopy technique. The probe will be modified to locally generate thermal ablation inside solid tumors. The cell response and the therapeutic efficiency will be carefully monitored. The information obtained thereby will be used for the rational design of next-generation nanomaterials towards cancer photothermal therapies.