Black phosphorus quantum dots doped multifunctional hydrogel particles for cancer immunotherapy

Abstract Immunotherapy is a powerful approach for oncotherapy that relies on enhancing the ability of the immune system to recognize and attack tumors. Effectively provoking the immune effector cells to respond to cancer cells is still a challenge. Here, we present a novel kind of γδ T cell-stimulating hydrogel particle loaded with zoledronate for breast cancer immunotherapy. The hydrogel particles with interconnected nanopores were formed by negatively replicating silica colloidal crystal beads (SCCBs) through using N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAM) pregel solution doped with black phosphorus quantum dots (BPQDs). Due to the photothermal-responsive property of the BPQDs doped pNIPAM hydrogel, the releasing of zoledronate from these particles could be accurately controlled by using deep penetrating near-infrared (NIR) light. Owing to the direct anti-tumor activity and the capacity of stimulating γδ T-cell to attack tumor cells, our BPQDs-doped pNIPAM hydrogel particles show great potential for γδ T cell activation and proliferation with high therapeutic efficacy for in vivo breast cancer treatment. Thus, the γδ T cell-stimulating hydrogel particles provide a novel clinical treatment option for cancer immunotherapy.