Cancer is a complex disease that displays physiomorphological
transformation
in different surrounding microenvironments. Therefore, the single
treatment modalities are relatively less effective, and their efficiency
varies with tumor cell physiology, leading to the development of tumor
resistance. Combinatorial therapeutic approaches, such as chemo-photothermal
therapy, are promising for efficiently mitigating tumor progression
irrespective of cancer physiology. Nanotechnology has played a significant
role in this regard. Therefore, the present study reports the synthesis
of poly(acrylic acid)-tetraethylene glycol (PAA-TEG)-coated BaSO4 nanoparticles (NPs) with enhanced solubility, dispersibility,
and X-ray attenuation. Next, nanocomposites (NCs) are synthesized
by loading BaSO4 NPs with the therapeutic drug triiodobenzoic
acid (Tiba) and the photosensitizer IR780 using a lipid coating. These
fabricated NCs are analyzed for dual-modal imaging (fluorescence and
X-ray-based imaging) properties and chemo-phototherapeutic ability
against two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) cultures of
A549 cells. Furthermore, A549 cells are morphologically and physiologically
aggravated into potent malignant cells using tobacco leaf extract
(TE), and the variation in the therapeutic effect of NCs compared
to cisplatin is determined. The synthesized NCs display enhanced encapsulation
and excellent synergistic anticancer activity through the generation
of reactive oxygen species (ROS), mitochondrial damage, and genotoxicity.
Also, the NCs are more potent in inhibiting cancer cell growth than
cisplatin, and their impact is unaltered in the presence or absence
of TE pretreatment of A549 cells. The present study holds significant
potential for various theranostic applications, which are highly desired
for laparoscopic image-guided lung cancer therapy.