Antimonene Quantum Dots: Synthesis and Application as Near‐Infrared Photothermal Agents for Effective Cancer Therapy

Abstract

Photothermal therapy (PTT) has shown significant potential for cancer therapy. However, developing nanomaterials (NMs)‐based photothermal agents (PTAs) with satisfactory photothermal conversion efficacy (PTCE) and biocompatibility remains a key challenge. Herein, a new generation of PTAs based on two‐dimensional (2D) antimonene quantum dots (AMQDs) was developed by a novel liquid exfoliation method. Surface modification of AMQDs with polyethylene glycol (PEG) significantly enhanced both biocompatibility and stability in physiological medium. The PEG‐coated AMQDs showed a PTCE of 45.5 %, which is higher than many other NMs‐based PTAs such as graphene, Au, MoS 2 , and black phosphorus (BP). The AMQDs‐based PTAs also exhibited a unique feature of NIR‐induced rapid degradability. Through both in vitro and in vivo studies, the PEG‐coated AMQDs demonstrated notable NIR‐induced tumor ablation ability. This work is expected to expand the utility of 2D antimonene (AM) to biomedical applications through the development of an entirely novel PTA platform.