Folic Acid navigated Silver Selenide nanoparticles for photo-thermal ablation of cancer cells

[Display omitted] •Photothermal ablation of the cancer cells.•Silver selenide (Ag2Se) nanoparticles for photothermal therapy using folic acid for selective targeting.•Hyperthermia exhibited reduces the tumor volume of mice within 30 days. Photothermal ablation of the cancer cells is a non-invasive technique for cancer treatment, involving cellular assassination in presence of photothermal agent. We are reporting silver selenide (Ag2Se) nanoparticles for photothermal therapy using folic acid for selective targeting. The material, when exposed to 808nm laser, the temperature got boosted to 54°C in 6.5min, thus proving its potential for photothermal ablation. The material was highly biocompatible (95%) at highest concentration (10μg/mL) against A 549 cells. However, in presence of laser, the cellular killing was 55%. The mode of death was analyzed using MALDI-TOF MS.