Synergistic Therapeutic Effects of Prussian Blue Erbium-Doped Hydroxyapatite Nanoparticles in Photothermal Photodynamic Cancer Therapy

This study explores the synergistic therapeutic potential of Prussian Blue Erbium-Doped Hydroxyapatite (PB-Er-HAp) bioceramics in the context of photothermal therapy (PTT) and photodynamic therapy (PDT) for cancer treatment, highlighting their role in multimodal therapeutic approaches and imaging. PB-Er-HAp nanoparticles (NPs) were synthesized using a facile coprecipitation method to incorporate erbium (Er) into nanostructured hydroxyapatite (HAp) at various concentrations. Prussian Blue (PB) was functionalized onto the surfaces of these NPs, resulting in a final particle size of less than 50 nm. The therapeutic efficacy of the synthesized 1.0 mol % PB-Er-HAp NPs was evaluated <i>in vitro</i>, using MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells. <i>In vitro</i> studies demonstrated that the PB-Er-HAp NPs exhibited significant PTT and PDT effects under 808 nm laser irradiation, effectively inducing cancer cell death through heat generation and reactive oxygen species production, respectively. <i>In vitro</i> experiments validated the ability of NPs to inhibit tumor growth in the MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cell line. This study emphasizes the potential of PB-Er-HAp NPs as a versatile platform for synergistic cancer therapy, combining PTT and PDT effects, while offering capabilities for biomedical imaging. Future research aims to further optimize these NPs and explore their clinical application, aiming toward enhanced therapeutic outcomes in cancer treatment.