Hybrid nanoarchitectonics of molybdenum dioxide (MoO₂) and doxorubicin (DOX) for synergistic chemo-photothermal-based breast carcinoma therapy

Cancer has emerged as one of the severe ailments due to the uncontrolled proliferation rate of cells, accounting for millions of deaths annually. Despite the availability of various treatment strategies, including surgical interventions, radiation, and chemotherapy, tremendous advancements in the past two decades of research have evidenced the generation of different nanotherapeutic designs toward providing synergistic therapy. In this study, we demonstrate the assembly of a versatile nanoplatform based on the hyaluronic acid (HA)-coated molybdenum dioxide (MoO₂) assemblies to act against breast carcinoma. The hydrothermal approach-assisted MoO₂ constructs are immobilized with doxorubicin (DOX) molecules on the surface. Further, these MoO₂-DOX hybrids are encapsulated with the HA polymeric framework. Furthermore, the versatile nanocomposites of HA-coated MoO₂-DOX hybrids are systematically characterized using various characterization techniques, and explored biocompatibility in the mouse fibroblasts (L929 cell line), as well as synergistic photothermal (808-nm laser irradiation for 10 min, 1 W/cm²) and chemotherapeutic properties against breast carcinoma (4T1 cells). Finally, the mechanistic views concerning the apoptosis rate are explored using the JC-1 assay to measure the intracellular mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) levels. In conclusion, these findings indicated excellent photothermal and chemotherapeutic efficacies, exploring the enormous potential of MoO₂ composites against breast cancer.