Indocyanine green and curcumin co-loaded nano-fireball-like albumin nanoparticles based on near-infrared-induced hyperthermia for tumor ablation

Background: Indocyanine green (ICG) has received considerable interest as a biocompatible organic photothermal agent, and curcumin (Cur) is considered an attractive natural chemopreventive and chemotherapeutic compound. However, the in vivo applicabil-ity of ICG and Cur is significantly restricted by their poor ability to target tumors and their extremely low solubility. Materials and Methods: To address these problems, ICG/Cur-loaded albumin nanoparti-cles (ICG-BSA-Cur-NPs) based on the nab™ (nanoparticle albumin-bound) technology were applied to neuroblastomas in vivo. Results: The fabricated ICG-BSA-Cur-NPs were found to be spherical, ~150 nm in size and highly dispersible and stable in aqueous solution. Approximately 80% of the incorporated ICG and Cur were gradually released from the NPs over 48 h. All formulations of ICG-BSA-Cur-NPs (5~20 µg/mL) showed efficient hyperthermia profiles (up to 50–60°C within 5 min) in response to 808-nm NIR laser irradiation in vitro and in vivo. Notably, ICG-BSA-Cur-NPs illuminated with 808-nm laser irradiation (1.5 W/cm²) showed excellent cytotoxicity toward N2a cells in vitro and undisputable antitumor efficacy in N2a-xenografted mice in vivo, compared to other tested sample groups (tumor volumes for PBS, BSA-Cur-NPs, free ICG, and ICG-BSA-Cur-NPs groups were 1408.6 ± 551.9, 1190.6 ± 343.6, 888.6 ± 566.2, and 103.0 ± 111.3 mm³, respectively). Conclusion: We demonstrate that these hyperthermal chemotherapeutic ICG-BSA-Cur-NPs have potential as a future brain tumor treatment.