The multimodal imaging feasibility and synergistic chemo-photothermal therapeutic efficacy of the DM1-mPEG/HER-PGNSs were investigated in breast cancer tumour-bearing mice. The selective uptake of the coated PGNSs by cancer cells and subsequent intracellular accumulation were studied in vitro and in vivo using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry and fluorescence imaging. SK-BR-3 (high HER2 expression) and MCF-7 (low HER2) breast cancer cells were treated with DM1-mPEG/HER-PGNSs, and cytotoxicity was evaluated in terms of cell viability and apoptosis. Prepared PGNSs were coated with mPEG, DM1 and HER via electrostatic interactions and AuвЂ“S bonds to yield DM1-mPEG/HER-PGNSs. Furthermore, a derivative of the microtubule-targeting drug maytansine (DM1) was incorporated in the PGNSs. The aim of this study was to design a nanocarrier comprising porous gold nanoshells (PGNSs) co-decorated with methoxy polyethylene glycol (mPEG) and trastuzumab (HerceptinВ®, HER), a therapeutic monoclonal antibody that binds specifically to human epidermal receptor-2 (HER2)-overexpressing breast cancer cells. The lack of accurate diagnostic and monitoring methods also limit the benefits of cancer treatment. Consequently, it is difficult to achieve satisfactory results with monotherapies. Although many treatments for breast cancer are available, poor tumour targeting limits the effectiveness of most approaches.

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