Research progress on the 'all-in-one' photothermal platform prepared based on polydopamine for tumor synergy therapy

Nanomaterials exhibit significant potential in tumor diagnosis and treatment due to their unique physicochemical properties, for example, retention and permeability, environment-responsiveness, and so on. Particularly, the development of photothermal nanomaterials has brought new opportunities for biomedical, especially in the fields of tumor diagnosis and therapy. However, the application of nanomaterials in biomedicine often encounters considerable challenges in terms of biocompatibility, which hinders their clinical translation. However, carriers constructed from biocompatible nanomaterials hold promising prospects. Moreover, the limitations of single-agent tumor therapy highlight the importance of synergy therapy in clinical practice. Among various nanomaterials, polydopamine (PDA), a synthetic analog of natural melanin, not only possesses widespread sources and excellent biocompatibility, but also features biodegradability, easily modifiable surfaces, and superior photothermal conversion performance. Furthermore, the aromatic ring structure on the surface of PDA, containing functional groups such as catechol, amine, and imine, endows PDA with strong adhesive properties, which enables the loading of drug molecules via pi-pi interactions and achieves photothermal-based tumor synergy therapy. These characteristics give PDA a unique advantage in tumor synergy therapy. Therefore, this review summarizes and reviews various multifunctional drug carriers prepared based on PDA and their applications in tumor photothermal synergy therapy, thus providing insights for the future design of more diverse and intelligent drug delivery systems based on PDA.