A direct current (DC) resistance sensor based on two-dimensional (2D) molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) was developed to enable cancer cell-specific detection via micro-changes in the cancer cell membrane.

A few-volt nanosecond alternating-current stimulation method with an increased number of pulses exploiting orientational-disordering processes.

Developing novel nanostructures and advanced nanotechnologies for cancer treatment has attracted ever-increasing interest. Electrothermal therapy offers many advantages such as high efficiency and minimal invasiveness, but finding a balance between increasing stability of the nanostructure state and, at the same time, enhancing the nanostructure biodegradability presents a key challenge. Here, we modulate the biodegradation process of two-dimensional-material-based nanostructures by using polyethylene glycol (PEG) via nanostructure disrupt-and-release effects. We then demonstrate the development of a previously unreported alternating current (AC) pulse WS 2 /PEG nanostructure system for enhancing therapeutic performance. A decrease in cell viability of ∼42% for MCF-7 cells with WS 2 /PEG was achieved, which is above an average of ∼25% for current electrothermal-based therapeutic methods using similar energy densities, as well as degradation time of the WS 2 of ∼1 week, below an average of ∼3.5 weeks for state-of-the-art nanostructure-based systems in physiological media. Moreover, the incubation time of MCF-7 cells with WS 2 /PEG reached ∼24 h, which is above the average of ∼4.5 h for current electrothermal-based therapeutic methods and with the use of the amount of time harnessed to incubate the cells with nanostructures before applying a stimulus as a measure of incubation time. Material characterizations further disclose the degradation of WS 2 and the grafting of PEG on WS 2 surfaces. These WS 2 -based systems offer strong therapeutic performance and, simultaneously, maintain excellent biodegradability/biocompatibility, thus providing a promising route for the ablation of cancer.

Promising results in clinical studies have been demonstrated by the utilization of electrothermal agents (ETAs) in cancer therapy. However, a difficulty arises from the balance between facilitating the degradation of ETAs, and at the same time, increasing the electrothermal performance/stability required for highly efficient treatment. In this study, we controlled the thermal signature of the MoS2 by harnessing MoS2 nanostructures with M13 phage (MNM) via the structural assembling (hydrophobic interaction) phenomena and developed a combined PANC-1 cancer cell–MNM alternating current (AC)-stimulus framework for cancer cell ablation and electrothermal therapy. A percentage decrease in the cell viability of ~23% was achieved, as well as a degradation time of 2 weeks; a stimulus length of 100 μs was also achieved. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations revealed the assembling kinetics in integrated M13 phage–cancer cell protein systems and the structural origin of the hydrophobic interaction-enabled increase in thermal conduction. This study not only introduced an ‘ideal’ agent that avoided the limitations of ETAs but also provided a proof-of-concept application of MoS2-based materials in efficacious cancer therapy.

The development of combined 2D-material-polymer-phage frameworks that can enhance cancer cell detection via the enhancement of electrical conductivity.