Recent Advances in Bio-Inspired Versatile Polydopamine Platforms for “Smart” Cancer Photothermal Therapy

Although photothermal therapy (PTT) has been developed for fighting cancers, the degradative, toxic, and metabolic nature of photothermal conversion materials (PCMs) has prevented them from being clinically implemented. Taking advantage of the surface modification strategy of mussel-inspired dopamine chemistry and its excellent photothermal conversion effect, polydopamine (Pdop) represents a versatile PTT platform, providing strategies and methods for the construction of novel Pdop-functionalized PCMs. Thanks to its adhesion and secondary reactivity, Pdop can be deposited on virtually all substrates to improve their bioavailability and biocompatibility. Pdop-based PCMs could not be only functionalized with small biomolecules via chemical bonds and/or noncovalent force but also modified with functional polymers via either the “grafting to” or “grafting from” method. This review highlights the synthetic methods, therapeutic strategies, and designs of PCMs based on Pdop in recent years to explore its scope and limitations.