The ability to selectively destroy cancer cells while sparing normal tissue is highly desirable during the cancer therapy. Here, magnetic targeted photothermal therapy was demonstrated by the integration of MoS₂ (MS) flakes and Fe₃O₄ (IO) nanoparticles (NPs), where MoS₂ converted near-infrared (NIR) light into heat and Fe₃O₄ NPs served as target moiety directed by external magnetic field to tumor site. The MoS₂/Fe₃O₄ composite (MSIOs) functionalized by biocompatible polyethylene glycol (PEG) were prepared by a simple two-step hydrothermal method. And the as-obtained MSIOs exhibit high stability in bio-fluids and low toxicity in vitro and in vivo. Specifically, the MSIOs can be applied as a dual-modal probe for T₂-weighted magnetic resonance (MR) and photoacoustic tomography (PAT) imaging due to their superparamagnetic property and strong NIR absorption. Furthermore, we demonstrate an effective result for magnetically targeted photothermal ablation of cancer. All these results show a great potential for localized photothermal ablation of cancer spatially/timely guided by the magnetic field and indicated the promise of the multifunctional MSIOs for applications in cancer theranostics.

Biodegradable MoO_x nanoparticles not only can convert light into heat but also generate ROS which realized synergic mild PTT and PDT under NIR-II laser (1064 nm) irradiation.