Esophageal cancer is one of the six most common
cancers in the world, constituting ∼7% of the
gastrointestinal cancers. Esophageal
stents can be inserted into the esophagus to open the pathway as a
palliative treatment for advanced
esophageal cancer. For the treatment of
esophageal cancer, a series of anticancer drug-loaded
stents such as
paclitaxel or
5-fluorouracil/esophageal
stent combinations have been prepared by covering a
nitinol stent with a
polymer or
hydrogel shell. For the first time, we developed a
gold nanoshell (AuNS)-coated
stent with high photothermal efficiency and used in the repetitive
photothermal therapy of
esophageal cancer. The functionalized
stent was prepared by using surface-coated
polydopamine as the Au3+ anchor and template. The thickness of the AuNS can be easily adjusted by controlling the reaction time and amount of Au3+. The AuNS-coated
stent efficiently increased the temperature of pork and porcine intestines irradiated with a near-infrared (NIR)
laser. The deep penetration of the NIR
laser and excellent stability of the
stent provide opportunity for the clinical applications of the newly functionalized
stent. In vitro toxicity experiments showed excellent biocompatibility and safety of this device. Compared with bare
metal stent, AuNS-modified
stent exhibits great potential to open the duct passageway and suppress
tumor growth in future clinical applications.