Facile Synthesis and Characterization of a Multifunctional GO-FeZnCuInS/ZnS Nanocomposite as a Promising Dual Tool for Cancer Phototherapy

Abstract In this work, we report the facile aqueous synthesis of graphene oxide-FeZnCuInS/ZnS (GO-FeZCIS/ZnS) nanocomposite as a potential dual phototherapeutic agent. The as-synthesised nanocomposite showed a photoluminescence quantum yield (PLQY) higher than that of the undoped QDs and a superior average lifetime. The structural characterisations showed that the nanocomposite was negatively charged (− 40.40 mV) and quasi-spherical, with an average diameter of 33.09 nm. The XRD results revealed that the nanocomposite exhibits a zinc blend structure. The cytotoxicity assay against KM-Luc /GFP malignant fibrous histiocytoma-like cells stably expressing the firefly luciferase gene (KM-Luc) and Breast carcinoma cells (FM3A-Luc) showed that the materials are biocompatible, while the photothermal profiling analysis showed that the material was able to generate a lot of heat with a temperature change of about 45.2 °C which was higher than that of ZnCuInS/ZnS (ZCIS/ZnS) (35.5 °C) and FeZnCuInS/ZnS (FeZCIS/ZnS) (39.3 °C) QDs with singlet oxygen quantum yield of 0.27. The results showed the as-synthesised nanocomposite as a promising therapeutic agent for dual cancer phototherapy.