Robust Photothermal Nanodrugs Based on Covalent Assembly of Nonpigmented Biomolecules for Antitumor Therapy

Photothermal nanodrugs based on biomolecules are critically important for advancing photothermal therapy (PTT). However, constructing photothermal nanodrugs from biomolecules is highly challenging because most biomolecules are inherently nonpigmented. Herein, we synthesize well-defined, uniform photothermal nanodrugs through a covalent assembly approach by using nonpigmented peptides and iridoids as building blocks. The resulting photothermal nanodrugs show broad absorption from the UV to the near-infrared region, high photothermal conversion efficiency along with robust photostability, and selective tumor accumulation, leading to highly efficient tumor ablation via PTT. This work represents the first example of photothermal nanodrugs that can be constructed by using nonpigmented biomolecules as building blocks and thus will conceivably promote the preclinical evaluation and clinical translation of PTT.