Abstract
Emphasis using phototheranostics has been placed on the construction of multifunctional nanoplatforms for simultaneous tumor diagnosis and therapy. Herein, we put forth a novel nanosized luminescent material using the incorporation of red emissive carbon dots on gold nanorods through polyethylene glycol as a covalent linkage for dual-modal imaging and photothermal therapy. The novel nanohybrids, not only retain the optical properties of the gold nanorod and carbon dots, but also possess superior imaging performance in both confocal laser scanning microscopy and fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy. The nanohybrids also exhibit excellent photothermal performance as phototheranostic nanohybrid probes for in vitro assays. This study promises a new multifunctional nanoplatform for cancer diagnostics and therapeutics.
Highlights
Cancer theranostics, which combine bioimaging diagnostics and cancer therapy, have the potential to help millions of people in typically fatal situations [1]
We report the construction of a covalently-linked nanohybrid as a novel nanoplatform for dual-modal imaging and phototherapy made up of gold nanorods (GNRs) and carbon dots (CDs) bridged with Polyethylene glycol (PEG) (GNR–PEG–CDs), and these luminescent nanohybrid materials express excellent fluorescence features for fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM) and confocal FL imaging, leading to good spatial resolutions and a strong response to photothermal therapy (PTT)
To prevent an absolute quenching effect of fluorescence of the CDs, aggregation of GNRs [45], and, most importantly, to achieve covalent linkage between GNRs and CDs; PEG-SH was grafted onto the surface of GNRs to form highly-monodispersed GNR-PEG
Summary
Cancer theranostics, which combine bioimaging diagnostics and cancer therapy, have the potential to help millions of people in typically fatal situations [1]. PEG is the most suitable material for latent clinical applications These biocompatible PEG chains can be functionalized as a covalent linker, which can improve the chemical stability of the hybrids in physiological environments, as well as prevent absolute quenching of CD fluorescence when bound to GNRs. In this paper, we report the construction of a covalently-linked nanohybrid as a novel nanoplatform for dual-modal imaging and phototherapy made up of GNRs and CDs bridged with PEG (GNR–PEG–CDs), and these luminescent nanohybrid materials express excellent fluorescence features for FLIM and confocal FL imaging, leading to good spatial resolutions and a strong response to PTT. This study exhibits a new multifunctional nanoplatform, i.e., GNR–PEG–CDs, for cancer diagnostics and therapeutics
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
