Phase and Defect Engineering of MoSe₂ Nanosheets for Enhanced NIR-II Photothermal Immunotherapy

Abstract

Inducing immunogenic cell death (ICD) during photothermal therapy (PTT) has the potential to effectively trigger photothermal immunotherapy (PTI). However, ICD induced by PTT alone is often limited by inefficient PTT, low immunogenicity of tumor cells, and a dysregulated redox microenvironment. Herein, we develop MoSe₂ nanosheets with high-percentage metallic 1T phase and rich exposed active Mo centers through phase and defect engineering of MoSe₂ as an effective nanoagent for PTI. The metallic 1T phase in MoSe₂ nanosheets endows them with strong PTT performance, and the abundant exposed active Mo centers endow them with high activity for glutathione (GSH) depletion. The MoSe₂-mediated high-performance PTT synergizing with efficient GSH depletion facilitates the release of tumor-associated antigens to induce robust ICD, thus significantly enhancing checkpoint blockade immunotherapy and activating systemic immune response in mouse models of colorectal cancer and triple-negative metastatic breast cancer.