Human‐Serum‐Albumin‐Coated Prussian Blue Nanoparticles as pH‐/Thermotriggered Drug‐Delivery Vehicles for Cancer Thermochemotherapy

Constructing novel multimodal antitumor therapeutic nanoagents has attracted tremendous recent attention. In this work, a new drug‐delivery vehicle based on human‐serum‐albumin (HSA)‐coated Prussian blue nanoparticles (PB NPs) is synthesized. It is demonstrated that doxorubicin (DOX)/HSA is successfully loaded after in situ polymerization of dopamine onto PB NPs, and the PB@PDA/DOX/HSA NPs are highly compatible and stable in various physiological solutions. The NPs possess strong near‐infrared (NIR) absorbance, and excellent capability and stability of photothermal conversion for highly efficient photothermal therapy applications. Furthermore, a bimodal on‐demand drug release sensitively triggered by pH or NIR irradiation has been realized, resulting in a significant chemotherapeutic effect due to the preferential uptake and internalization of the NPs by cancer cells. Importantly, the thermochemotherapy efficacy of the NPs has been examined by a cell viability assay, revealing a remarkably superior synergistic anticancer effect over either monotherapy. Such multifunctional drug‐delivery systems composed of approved materials may have promising biomedical applications for antitumor therapy.     

Core–Shell Bi2Se3@mSiO2‐PEG as a Multifunctional Drug‐Delivery Nanoplatform for Synergistic Thermo‐Chemotherapy with Infrared Thermal Imaging of Cancer Cells

Thermo‐chemotherapy combining photothermal therapy (PTT) with chemotherapy has become a potent approach for antitumor treatment. In this study, a multifunctional drug‐delivery nanoplatform based on polyethylene glycol (PEG)‐modified mesoporous silica‐coated bismuth selenide nanoparticles (referred to as Bi₂Se₃@mSiO₂‐PEG NPs) is developed for synergistic PTT and chemotherapy with infrared thermal (IRT) imaging of cancer cells. The product shows no/low cytotoxicity, strong near‐infrared (NIR) optical absorption, high photothermal conversion capacity, and stability. Utilizing the prominent photothermal effect, high‐contrast IRT imaging and efficient photothermal killing effect on cancer cells are achieved upon NIR laser irradiation. Moreover, the successful mesoporous silica coating of the Bi₂Se₃@mSiO₂‐PEG NPs cannot only largely improve the stability but also endow the NPs high drug loading capacity. As a proof‐of‐concept model, doxorubicin (DOX) is successfully loaded into the NPs with rather high loading capacity (≈50.0%) via the nanoprecipitation method. It is found that the DOX‐loaded NPs exhibit a bimodal on‐demand pH‐ and NIR‐responsive drug release property, and can realize effective intracellular drug delivery for chemotherapy. The synergistic thermo‐chemotherapy results in a significantly higher antitumor efficacy than either PTT or chemotherapy alone. The work reveals the great potential of such core–shell NPs as a multifunctional drug‐delivery nanosystem for thermo‐chemotherapy.     

Biodegradable Black-Phosphorus-Nanosheet-Based Nanoagent for Enhanced Chemo-Photothermal Therapy

Black phosphorus nanosheet (BPNS) is a promising multifunctional material in the biomedical field with biodegradability and low side effects, however its features are always weakened severely owing to its poor stability. Here, a novel method is developed for improving the defect of BPNS based on the effective protection of poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA), which preserves the stable photothermal therapy (PTT) effect of BPNS and biodegradability of the material. Meanwhile, doxorubicin (DOX) is loaded on BPNS/PLGA to get BPNS/PLGA/DOX for further chemotherapy and preventing the recurrence of tumor after PTT. The presented combined therapeutic strategy exploits the strengths and improves the defects of BPNS, thus developing an efficient and safe nanoagent for cancer therapy, which affords and reveals the great potential of BPNS in nanomedicine.     

Cobalt Phosphide Nanoparticles Applied as a Theranostic Agent for Multimodal Imaging and Anticancer Photothermal Therapy

Biocompatible single‐component theranostic nanoagents instinctly affording multiple imaging modalities with satisfying therapeutic functions are highly desirable for anticancer treatments. Although cobalt‐based phosphides are well‐recognized as competent electrocatalysts, their potentials for biomedical applications remain unexplored. In this work, cobalt phosphide nanoparticles (CoP NPs) are developed to be a powerful theranostic agent for multimodal imaging and anticancer photothermal therapy. The uniform CoP NPs in a size of ≈21 nm are synthesized via a facile thermal decomposition method, followed by surface modification. The resultant CoP NPs exhibit excellent compatibility and stability in water as well as various physiological solutions. Supported by the good biocompatibility, strong near‐infrared absorption, and high photothermal conversion property, significant photothermal effect of the NPs is demonstrated, realizing efficient hyperthermia ablation on cancer cells. Importantly, the CoP NPs have shown considerable capabilities on high‐contrast in vitro and in vivo triple‐modal imaging, including infrared thermal (IRT), photoacoustic (PA), and T₂‐weighted magnetic resonance (MR) imaging. This work has unraveled the promising potentials of CoP‐based nanoagent for precise diagnosis and efficient therapy.     

In Vitro Evaluation of Non‐Protein Adsorbing Breast Cancer Theranostics Based on 19F‐Polymer Containing Nanoparticles

Eight fluorinated nanoparticles (NPs) are synthesized, loaded with doxorubicin (DOX), and evaluated as theranostic delivery platforms to breast cancer cells. The multifunctional NPs are formed by self‐assembly of either linear or star‐shaped amphiphilic block copolymers, with fluorinated segments incorporated in the hydrophilic corona of the carrier. The sizes of the NPs confirm that small circular NPs are formed. The release kinetics data of the particles reveals clear hydrophobic core dependence, with longer sustained release from particles with larger hydrophobic cores, suggesting that the DOX release from these carriers can be tailored. Viability assays and flow cytometry evaluation of the ratios of apoptosis/necrosis indicate that the materials are non‐toxic to breast cancer cells before DOX loading; however, they are very efficient, similar to free DOX, at killing cancer cells after drug encapsulation. Both flow cytometry and confocal microscopy confirm the cellular uptake of NPs and DOX‐NPs into breast cancer cells, and in vitro ¹⁹F‐MRI measurement shows that the fluorinated NPs have strong imaging signals, qualifying them as a potential in vivo contrast agent for ¹⁹F‐MRI.     

A Curcumin-Based MOF Embedded Ag NPs and Modified with Polydopamine for Dual-Drug Delivery and Dual Biological Window Responsive Synergetic Cancer Therapy

A dual-drug delivery, pH-responsive composite nanoplatform (MAPD NPs) that can respond to two biological windows is developed to improve the efficacy of synergetic chemotherapic/photothermal/chemodynamic therapy (CDT) against tumors. This nanoplatform is surface-modified polydopamine (PDA) with excellent biocompatibility as the shell and Ag NPs as the catalyst for CDT. The curcumin (Cur) acts as an organic ligand to be encapsulated in metal−biomolecule frameworks (Bio-MOFs) by self-assembly, and Bio-MOF acts as a delivery carrier to deliver of DOX•HCl and then releases the Cur when it degrades in vivo. Moreover, Bio-MOF can be taken up by cells faster and accelerate cell death compared to free Cur. PDA modification enables MAP (PDA@MOF-Ag) to have photothermal properties under 808 and 1064 nm light irradiation, which not only improves the biocompatibility of MAP but also makes it produce high heat and abundant ·OH. The photothermal performance of MAP is stable after irradiation at 808 or 1064 nm, and the photothermal conversion efficiency reaches 63.57% and 26.25%. The survival rate of HeLa cells co-incubation with MAPD NPs after irradiation at 808 and 1064 nm decreases to 19.52 ± 0.69% and 30.48 ± 0.49%, respectively, providing a feasible scheme for the realization of deep tumor killing.     

Near‐Infrared‐Light‐Induced Fast Drug Release Platform: Mesoporous Silica‐Coated Gold Nanoframes for Thermochemotherapy

Development of advanced theranostics for personalized medicine is of great interest. Herein, a multifunctional mesoporous silica‐based drug delivery carrier has been developed for efficient chemo/photothermal therapy. The unique Au nanoframes@mSiO₂ spheres are elaborately prepared by utilizing Ag@mSiO₂ yolk–shell spheres as the template through spatially confined galvanic replacement method. Compared with the Ag@mSiO₂ yolk–shell spheres, the resultant Au nanoframes@mSiO₂ spheres show a strong and broad near‐infrared (NIR) absorbance in the 550–1100 nm region, high surface areas, and good biocompatibility. When irradiated with a NIR laser with a power intensity of 1 W cm^?2 at 808 nm, they can become highly localized heat sources through the photothermal effect. Moreover, the photothermal effect of the Au nanoframes can significantly promote the fast release of doxorubicin. The in vitro studies show obvious synergistic effects combining photothermal therapy and chemotherapy in the Au nanoframes@mSiO₂ spheres against Hela cells. It is believed that the as‐obtained multifunctional vehicles provide a promising platform for the combination of hyperthermia and chemotherapy for cancer treatment application.     

Gold nanoflowers with mesoporous silica as “nanocarriers” for drug release and photothermal therapy in the treatment of oral cancer using near-infrared (NIR) laser light

In this experiment, we successfully developed nanocarriers in the form of gold nanoflowers coated with two layers of silica for the purposes of drug loading and NIR (near-infrared) photothermal therapy for the treatment of oral cancer. The gold nanoflowers converted NIR laser energy into heat energy. The cores were coated with a thin silica layer (AuNFs@SiO₂) to protect the gold nanoflowers from intraparticle ripening. The second layer was mesoporous silica (AuNFs@SiO₂@mSiO₂), which acted as a nanocarrier for anticancer drug (DOX) loads. The mean effective diameter of the nanoparticles was approximately 150–200 nm, whereas the peak absorption of the AuNFs was 684 nm. After the AuNFs were encapsulated by the silica shells, the plasmonic absorption peak of AuNFs@SiO₂ and AuNFs@SiO₂@mSiO₂ exhibited a red shift to 718 nm. When exposed to an 808 nm NIR laser, these crystals showed an obvious photothermal conversion in the NIR region and a highly efficient release of DOX. Biocompatibility was assessed in vitro using Cell Counting Kit-8 assays, and the results showed that the nanocarriers induced no obvious cytotoxicity. This nanomaterial could be considered a new type of material that shows promising potential for photothermal-chemotherapy against malignant tumours, including those of oral cancers.     

Multivalent Sorbitol Probes for Near-Infrared Photothermal Cancer Therapy

Photothermal therapy (PTT) is a targeted and non-invasive therapeutic strategy for effective cancer treatment. Image-guided PTT based on bifunctional near-infrared (NIR) fluorophores has received significant attention recently and the development of NIR fluorophores is advised for targeted imaging and precise cancer therapy. In this study, a multivalent sorbitol-conjugated NIR fluorophore (4Sorbitol-800) is used as a photothermal therapeutic agent for in vivo cancer imaging and therapy because of the high tumor-targetability of the sorbitol moieties and excellent photothermal properties of the NIR heptamethine cyanine core. This NIR fluorophore demonstrates an excellent photothermal effect, which increases the temperature of the tumor by 57.4 °C upon NIR laser irradiation (1.1 W cm⁻²) for 5 min. The volumes of HT-29 tumors targeted by 4Sorbitol-800 significantly decrease over 7 days after photothermal treatment. The 4Sorbitol-800 developed in this study exhibits good in vivo safety and a highly efficient antitumor capability. Therefore, 4Sorbitol-800 in combination with NIR laser irradiation has promising potential for future clinical applications with targeted photothermal cancer therapy.     

金纳米星诊疗剂的光热特性及其在光热治疗和光学相干层析成像中的应用研究

为了开发一种优异的用于光热治疗和光学相干层析成像的金纳米星诊疗剂,对金纳米星的制备、光热特性以及光热治疗和光学相干层析成像中的应用进行研究.利用尖端结构增强金纳米材料的局域表面等离子体共振特性,通过种子介导法制备了多枝化的金纳米星,多尖端的结构使其具有明显的光热效果,并探究了其作为光热治疗的诊疗剂和光学相干层析成像造影...     

具有双重治疗机制的磁性纳米无定型氧化铁基药物递送系统

合成一种具有pH响应性的聚乙二醇(PEG)修饰无定形介孔氧化铁纳米粒子(AFe-PEG). 这种纳米粒子可以高效负载药物分子如阿霉素(DOX),构成新型多功能AFe-PEG/DOX药物递送体系. DOX的负载率高达948 mg/g-纳米粒子. 在酸性溶液中,AFe-PEG/DOX纳米粒子不仅可以有效释放DOX,同时可以释放Fe离子进行Fenton反应,将H₂O₂转变成·OH自由基. 体外实验结果表明,AFe-PEG/DOX纳米粒子对HeLa细胞同时具有化疗和化学动力学疗法的疗效. 同时,由于AFe-PEG/DOX 纳米粒子本身的磁性,使其在外部磁场中的细胞内化效率也得到了提高.     

Multifunctional magnetic nanoparticles for magnetic resonance image-guided photothermal therapy for cancer

Key advances in multifunctional magnetic nanoparticles （MNPs） for magnetic resonance （MR） image-guided pho- tothermal therapy of cancer are reviewed. We briefly outline the design and fabrication of such multifunctional MNPs. Bimodal image-guided photothermal therapies （MR/fluorescence and MR/ultrasound） are also discussed.     

Hydrophilic Cu3BiS3 Nanoparticles for Computed Tomography Imaging and Photothermal Therapy

Hydrophilic Cu₃BiS₃ nanoparticles (NPs) have been prepared using the thermal decomposition of precursor complexes in oily‐mixed solvent followed by coating the produced Cu₃BiS₃ NPs with polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP). The resulting Cu₃BiS₃/PVP NPs remain stable in aqueous solutions over a long period of time, and meanwhile, they show low in vitro cytotoxicity and negligible toxicity to mice in vivo. Cu₃BiS₃/PVP NPs could operate as an efficient dual‐modal contrast agent to simultaneously enhance X‐ray computed tomography imaging and photothermal imaging of tumor model in vivo. Moreover, highly efficient ablation of cancer cells both in vitro and in vivo has been successfully achieved by combining Cu₃BiS₃/PVP NPs with near‐infrared (NIR) laser irradiation. All of the positive results in this study highlight that Cu₃BiS₃/PVP NPs could serve as a promising platform for cancer diagnosis and therapy.     

Near-Infrared-Absorbing Diketopyrrolopyrrole-Based Semiconducting Polymer Nanoparticles for Photothermal Therapy

Photothermal therapy, an excellent therapeutic approach, has received much attention in recent years. Herein, a novel diketopyrrolopyrrole polymer (DPP-BDP) is prepared, which shows intense near-infrared (NIR) optical absorption and admirable photothermal conversion efficacy. Impressively, after assembly into nanoparticles (DB-FA), the as-prepared conjugated polymer demonstrates a uniformly distributed size around 200 nm with remarkable NIR absorption at 808 nm. Additionally, it displays high biocompatibility and photostability. More interestingly, the obtained DB-FA NPs are uptaken by cancer cells and present excellent anticancer in vitro and in vivo under 0.8 W cm⁻² or 1 W cm⁻² NIR laser irradiation, respectively. Hence, this work is expected to pave the way for using conjugated-polymer nanoparticles as a powerful photothermal agents for anticancer applications.     

Monodisperse Polypyrrole Nanoparticles Prepared via γ‐Ray Radiolysis of Water: An Efficient Near‐Infrared Photothermal Agent for Cancer Therapy

Biosafe nanoparticles with strong near‐infrared (NIR) light photothermal conversion effect can bring effective hyperthermia as one of the promising approaches in cancer therapy. In this work, a new facile and green preparation method of polypyrrole (PPy) nanoparticles based on ⁶⁰Co γ‐ray radiation on a simple air‐saturated strong acidic aqueous solution of pyrrole (pH ≤ 1) is studied. According to the MCAP‐FACSIMILE simulation on the concentrations of the radiolysis products of water at the presence of H⁺ and O₂, the main strong oxidative radiolysis products · OH and H₂O₂ rapidly induce the polymerization of pyrrole. The size of the prepared PPy nanoparticles is about several tens of nanometers and can be controlled by the pH, the concentration of the stabilizer poly(vinyl alcohol), and the absorbed dose rate (the amount of energy absorbed per unit mass of the irradiated material within per unit of time). The PPy nanoparticles show rapid and remarkable NIR (808 nm) photothermal conversion efficiency up to 40.1% in water. Furthermore, the in vitro and in vivo experiments confirm that the prepared PPy nanoparticles exhibit enough strong NIR photothermal effect in tumor cells (4T1 and HeLa) and show a promising prospect as the NIR photothermal agent for the future cancer therapy.     

Photothermal/Photodynamic Therapy with Immune‐Adjuvant Liposomal Complexes for Effective Gastric Cancer Therapy

A diagnosis and therapeutic strategy for gastric cancer is developed herein by combining thermosensitive liposomal (TSL)‐based photothermal/photodynamics therapy (PTT/PDT) with chemotherapy and adjuvant immunotherapy. IR820, a photothermal agent, paclitaxel (PTX), an antitumor drug, and imiquimod (R837), a Toll‐like‐receptor‐7 agonist, are coencapsulated into a TSL drug delivery system. These formed PTX‐R837‐IR820@TSL complexes exhibit excellent optical properties, good dispersibility, and stability. Under NIR light irradiation, the measurement of singlet oxygen production and thermal efficiency indicate promising potential of PTX‐R837‐IR820@TSL complexes for PTT and PDT. Confocal microscopy and small animal NIR imaging demonstrate tumor targeting ability of the liposomal complexes to gastric cancer cells. In vitro cell viability assays and in vivo animal experiments show prominent antitumor efficiency of PTX‐R837‐IR820@TSL complexes upon NIR light irradiation. This excellent therapeutic efficacy is attributed to the simultaneous chemotherapy and PTT/PDT. Furthermore, the liposomal complexes under NIR irradiation would ablate tumors to generate a pool of tumor‐associated antigens, which is able to promote strong antitumor immune responses in the presence of those R837‐containing liposomal complexes acted as adjuvant. These results indicate that the multifunctional liposomal complexes could realize a remarkable synergistic therapeutic outcome in gastric carcinoma.     

Radionuclide 188Re-Loaded Photothermal Hydrogel for Cancer Theranostics

Herein, an injectable photothermal hydrogel system containing a therapeutic radionuclide ¹⁸⁸Re is studied for combined radioisotope therapy and photothermal therapy (PTT) of cancer. A dopamine-conjugated poly(α,β-aspartic acid) copolymer (PDAEA) is used to trigger a sol–gel phase transition in mixture with Fe³⁺ ions, rapidly forming a gel by simply mixing PDAEA and FeCl₃ phosphate buffer saline solutions. The injectable hydrogel exhibits strong near-infrared light absorbance and can efficiently convert light into a heating effect for local PTT treatment. The obtained hydrogel possesses a porous 3D microstructure, and can be utilized for radionuclide loading. After the Na¹⁸⁸ReO₄ loading, the hydrogel is intratumorally injected into the tumor of mice bearing 4T1 murine breast cancer cells for studying the tumor retention and therapeutic efficiency. In vivo results show that Na¹⁸⁸ReO₄-loaded hydrogel exhibits significantly longer time in the tumor sites than that of free Na¹⁸⁸ReO₄. The tumor growth of mice treated with Na¹⁸⁸ReO₄-loaded hydrogel under near-infrared radiation is significantly inhibited compared with control groups. Therefore, the results show that the developed strategy using an injectable and biocompatible hydrogel may promote the applications of radioisotope therapy and photothermal therapy for cancer.     

Dual Responsive Poly(N‐vinylcaprolactam) Based Degradable Microgels for Drug Delivery

Poly(N‐vinylcaprolactam)‐based biodegradable microgels are prepared for drug delivery application via precipitation polymerization using diacetone acrylamide (DAAM) and dimethyl itaconate (IADME) as comonomers. The microgel particles are subsequently crosslinked by addition of adipic acid dihydrazide, which reacts with the ketone groups of DAAM. Itaconic acid (IA) groups are generated by the hydrolysis of IADME units inside the microgels resulting into both pH and temperature sensitive microgel particles. Volume phase transition temperature of the obtained microgels is influenced by both IA content and pH of the surrounding medium. Due to the incorporation of hydrazone linkages, the microgels show degradation under acidic conditions. These microgels can effectively encapsulate doxorubicin (DOX) as a model drug and show low DOX leakage under physiological conditions while rapid DOX release is observed at low pH. The results of the cytotoxicity assay further display that the DOX‐loaded microgels exhibit effective antitumor activity against HeLa cells demonstrating their great potential as drug delivery carriers for cancer therapy.     

Structurally improved reduced graphene oxide nanocluster structured assembly with Naringin for the effective photothermal therapy of colon tumour patients and nursing care management

Functionalization of naringin (Nar) on a nanomaterials surface will decrease their detrimental side effects and escape them from immunological rejection. In this study, we developed a sustainable green chemistry route to fabricate naringin-reduced graphene oxide nanosheets (rGO@Nar) through the easy method. The hydroxyl group of Naringin reduces and generates the functionalization of rGO@Nar, and it was confirmed through various spectroscopic method (FT-IR and Raman) and electroscopic methods (FE-SEM and HR-TEM). After careful evaluation of the nanocomposion, we performed cancer cell growth inhibition properties of the colon cancer cell line and Human vein endothelial cells (HT-29 and HUVEC). Also, we performed the photothermal effects of these nanocomposites on cell proliferation and apoptosis using different biochemical staining. Our in vitro investigational datas are established rGO@Nar effectively exhibited and also with rGO@Nar?+?NIR the photothermal conversion therapy improved prostate cancer cells abolishing the cancer cells. More interestingly rGO@Nar?+?NIR was found to surpass the activity of rGO@Nar in colon cancer cells tested a topnotches. Thus, our study suggests that rGO@Nar?+?NIR could be used as impending anticancer candidate for photothermal ablation of prostate cancer cells. Further examinations of the mechanism indicated that anticancer activity was accomplished by inducing apoptosis in cancer cells.     

Selective Targeting of Lymphoma Cells by Monoclonal Antibody Grafted onto Zwitterionic-Functionalized Nanoparticles

Nanomedicine is considered a promising alternative to improve cancer diagnosis and treatment. Particularly, the use of nanoparticles (NPs) has enabled the encapsulation of highly toxic anticancer drugs, facilitated ultimate targeting, and allowed tailoring of drug delivery. However, when in biological fluids, these NPs are coated by proteins which hide the targeting moieties and suppress the engineered biological outcome. Herein, how the Ki-1 monoclonal antibody (mAb) can preserve its targetability through grafting on the surface of zwitterionic-functionalized nanoparticles, is unveiled. Zwitterions, known for their stealth ability, are used to minimize unspecific NPs protein adsorption and consequently maintain mAb functionality. In this work, Ki-1 mAb is used as it recognizes TNFRSF8 (CD30⁺) transmembrane protein overexpressed on CD30⁺ lymphoma cells such as L540 cells. While nonfunctionalized NPs show negligible toxic effects toward L540 cells, the Ki-1-functionalized structure demonstrates cytotoxicity, since they undergo cellular uptake, suggesting a receptor-mediated internalization. This dual-functionalization strategy provides a promising multifunctional nanoplatform toward future personalized medicine applications, minimizing unspecific protein adsorption on NPs and ensuring selective cancer cell targeting.