Table 2.

Application of organic NPs in PTT and as PTT-based theranostic agents.

Organic NPs type	Size	Photothermal efficacy	In vitro anti-cancer effect	Particles injection dosage of in vivo anti-cancer study	In vivo anti-cancer effect	Reference
ICG loaded in silk fibroin NPs	165.9 nm	ΔT max 30 °C at the highest ICG concentration (20 ppm) laser power 1.5 W/cm2	Dose-dependent cytotoxicity in MCF-7 and HeLa cells, up to 90% toxicity for particles concentration of 20 μg/mL	No information was provided on volume or dose.	Control over xenografted MCF-7 tumor growth	[122]
ICG loaded in PLGA NPs	159 nm	ΔT max 20 °C, laser 1.0 W/cm2, ICG concentration 15 μM	90% reduction in cell viability in MCF-7 cells incubated for 24 h after laser irradiation	N/A	N/A	[111]
ICG conjugated to PEG pH sensitive micelles	30 nm at pH 7.4	ΔT max 34 °C for highest concentration of micelles. Higher PTT at acidic pH	100% toxicity towards A549 cells after laser irradiation (1 W/cm2, 5 min)	1.5 mg/kg (equivalent ICG)	Hyperthermia (55 °C, 1 W/cm2, 5 min), control over xenografted A549 tumor growth	[123]
Diketopyrrole derivative containing fluorine and selenium	60 nm (DLS), 50 nm (TEM)	Photothermal conversion efficiency 32% for unmodified particles, up to 62% for fluorine and selenide containing particles	Dose-dependent toxicity in A549 cells after laser irradiation	2 mg/kg	PAI of the tumor. Xenografted A549 tumors were eradicated.	[121]
PEG-PLGA NPs loaded with croconaines	180 nm	Photothermal conversion efficiencies between 32 and ∼35% in acidic solution (pH 6.5)	Dose-dependent reduction in cell viability (up to 90%) in MDA-MB-231 cells	5 mg/kg	In vivo multispectral PAI; antitumor efficacy in xenografted MDA-MB-231 tumor	[115]
Peptide-croconaines self-assembled NPs	20 nm at pH 7.4, 512 nm at pH 5.5	ΔT max 58 °C (1 W/cm2, 5 min)	Toxicity in Hu7 cells after laser irradiation	0.1 mL (2 mM)	In vivo NIR II imaging, PAI, hyperthermia (>40 °C), control over HepG2 tumor growth	[116]
Porphyrin-polymer NPs	133 nm	Photothermal conversion efficiency of 66%	Dose-dependent cytotoxicity in 4T1 cells after laser irradiation	0.04 mg	Hyperthermia (55 °C); control over 4T1 tumor growth	[124]
Porphyrin-diketopyrrole self-assembled particles	120 nm	Photothermal conversion efficiency of ∼63%	Dose-dependent cytotoxicity in HeLa cells with up to 70% reduction in cell viability	0.05 mg	Hyperthermia (60 °C); Eradication of tumor in xenografted HeLa tumors	[125]
Ultrasmall PPy NPs, PEG and PVA	2 nm, size dependent on PVA concentration	Photothermal conversion efficiency of ∼33% at 808 nm and ∼42% at 1064 nm	Dose-dependent cytotoxicity in U87 cells after irradiation with either 808 nm or 1064 nm laser	23 mg/kg	Fluorescence and PAI; hyperthermia (55 °C in 10 min, laser power 1.0 W/cm2); control over xenografted U87 tumor growth	[120]
Cancer cell membrane coated mesoporous poly dopamine NPs	250 nm	Photothermal conversion efficiency ∼39%	Dose-dependent and laser power-dependent toxicity in RM-1 cells	4 mg/kg for biodistribution study, no dose information for the PTT in vivo study	Hyperthermia (55 °C in 5 min); control over xenografted RM-1 tumor growth	[117]
Macrophage membrane coated poly dopamine NPs	159.6 nm	Photothermal conversion efficiency of 27%	Laser power-dependent cytotoxicity in 4T1 cells	10 mg/kg	Hyperthermia (ca. 50 °C); Control over 4T1 tumor growth and long term survival	[126]
Melanin NPs coated with a silica shell	100–150 nm	Photothermal conversion efficiency of 60% after silica coating, ∼67% for melanin particles before coating	Dose-dependent toxicity in 4T1 cells after laser irradiation (1064 nm, 1.0 W/cm2, 5 min)	0.1 mg	Control over tumor growth in 4T1 tumor model; hyperthermia (50 °C)	[127]
Semiconducting polymeric NPs two isoindigo modification	170 nm	ΔT°C max 27.3 °C (808 nm laser, 0.5 W/cm2, 7 min)	80% reduction in cell viability in 4T1 cells after incubation with 25 μg of particles followed by laser irradiation (808 nm, 1 W/cm2, 5 min)	0.05 mg	4T1 tumor eradication after laser irradiation (808 nm, 0.5 W/cm2, 6 min). Hyperthermia (65 °C)	[128]
Semiconducting polymeric NPs vinylene bonds in the backbone	36 nm	Photothermal conversion efficiency of 71 ± 2%	Dose- and laser power-dependent reduction in cell viability of 4T1 cells after irradiation for 8 min at 0.3 or 0.5 W/cm2	6 mg/kg	Hyperthermia (50 °C); Eradication of 4T1 tumor after irradiation for 6 min at 0.3 W/cm2	[78]

The undefined abbreviations in the table: polyethylene glycol (PEG), poly(lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA).