Photothermal therapy (PTT) is a method used to eliminate abnormal cells in targeted areas of the body by irradiating a special agent that generates heat capable of destroying those cells. Graphene oxide enhances the effectiveness of PTT in several ways.
First, it can be used as a carrier to deliver chemotherapeutic drugs directly to tumor cells while they are simultaneously exposed to PTT. This combination of chemotherapy and PTT is more effective than using either approach alone. In addition, a nanocomposite of reduced graphene oxide (QD-CRGO) can be applied during PTT for bioimaging of cancer cells.
Furthermore, in a study, a group of scientists from Texas Tech University and Texas A&M University demonstrated that using graphene oxide functionalized with biocompatible porphyrin as a platform for PTT in brain cancer treatment can kill more cancer cells than PTT alone, while causing no harm to healthy cells
