Co-loading of photothermal agents and anticancer drugs into porous silicon nanoparticles with enhanced chemo-photothermal therapeutic efficacy to kill multidrug-resistant cancer cells.

•IR820 dyes and doxorubicin were incorporated into porous silicon nanoparticles.•Dual pH/NIR light-controlled release could be observed.•NIR light helped DOX molecules going into the nuclei of MDR cancer cells.•Chemo-photothermal therapy of killing MDR cancer cells was demonstrated.