Folic Acid-Functionalized Liposomes Co-Loaded with Doxorubicin and Indocyanine Green for Combined Chemophotothermal Therapy of Cervical Cancer

The development of multimodal combined treatment strategies employing nanomedicine delivery systems effectively addresses the drawbacks of traditional tumor treatment, such as severe side effects, poor therapeutic effects, and high susceptibility to drug resistance. Herein, a folic acid (FA)-functionalized nanoplatform (FA-LP-ICG/DOX) was designed and fabricated for combined chemophotothermal therapy of cervical cancer. Anticancer drug doxorubicin (DOX) and photothermal agent indocyanine green (ICG) are co-loaded in the core of the liposome, followed by the modification of folic acid as the targeting ligand on the outer surface. Under near-infrared (NIR) laser irradiation, FA-LP-ICG/DOX can convert NIR energy into hyperthermia, demonstrating outstanding photothermal conversion efficiency. Experimental results indicate that FA-LP-ICG/DOX exhibits enhanced cellular internalization, good biocompatibility, and significant tumor-suppressive effects under NIR laser irradiation, which offers a promising strategy for treating cervical cancer through combined chemophotothermal therapy.