Current challenges in cutaneous tumor
therapy are healing the skin
wounds resulting from surgical resection and eliminating possible
residual tumor cells to prevent recurrence. To address this issue,
bifunctional biomaterials equipped with effective tumor therapeutic
capacity for skin cancers and simultaneous tissue regenerative ability
for wound closure are highly recommended. Herein, we report an injectable
thermosensitive hydrogel (named BT-CTS thermogel) with the integration
of nanosized black titania (B-TiO2–x, ∼50 nm) nanoparticles into a chitosan (CTS) matrix. The
B-TiO2–x nanocrystal exhibits a
crystalline/amorphous core–shell structure with abundant oxygen
vacancies, which endows the BT-CTS thermogels with simultaneous photothermal
therapy (PTT) and photodynamic therapy (PDT) effects under single-wavelength
near-infrared laser irradiation, leading to an excellent therapeutic
effect on skin tumors in vitro and in vivo. Moreover, the BT-CTS thermogel
not only supports the adhesion, proliferation, and migration of normal
skin cells but also facilitates skin tissue regeneration in a murine
chronic wound model. Therefore, such BT-CTS thermogels with easy injectability,
excellent thermostability, and simultaneous PTT and PDT efficacy as
well as tissue regenerative activity offers a promising pathway for
the healing of cutaneous tumor-induced wounds.