Imaging-guided Cancer Therapy Research Articles

All-in-One Alkaline Phosphatase-Response Aggregation-Induced Emission Probe for Cancer Discriminative Imaging and Combinational Chemodynamic-Photodynamic Therapy.

Currently, specific cancer-responsive fluorogenic probes with activatable imaging and therapeutic functionalities are in great demand in the accurate diagnostics and efficient therapy of malignancies. Herein, an all-in-one strategy is presented to realize fluorescence (FL) imaging-guided and synergetic chemodynamic-photodynamic cancer therapy by using a multifunctional alkaline phosphatase (ALP)-response aggregation-induced emission (AIE) probe, TPE-APP. By responding to the abnormal expression levels of an ALP biomarker in cancer cells, the phosphate groups on the AIE probe are selectively hydrolyzed, accompanied by in situ formation of strong emissive AIE aggregates for discriminative cancer cell imaging over normal cells and highly active quinone methide species with robust chemodynamic-photodynamic activities. Consequently, the activated AIE probes can efficiently destroy cancer cell membranes and lead to the death of cancer cells within 30 min. A superior efficacy in cancer cell ablation is demonstrated in vitro and in vivo. The cancer-associated biomarker response-derived discriminative FL imaging and synergistic chemodynamic-photodynamic therapy are expected to provide a promising avenue for precise image-guided cancer therapy.

Doping Engineering To Modulate Surface Plasmon Resonance and Enzyme-like Activities for Enhancing Photoacoustic Imaging-Guided Targeted Cancer Therapy in the Second Near-Infrared Window.

Biological imaging-guided targeted tumor therapy has been a soughtafter goal in the field of cancer diagnosis and treatment. To this end, we proposed a strategy to modulate surface plasmon resonance and endow WO3-x nanoparticles (NPs) with enzyme-like catalytic properties by doping Fe2+ in the structure of the NPs. Doping of the Fe2+ introduced oxygen vacancies into the structure of the NPs, inducing a red shift of the maximum absorption wavelength into the near-infrared II (NIR-II) region and enhancing the photoacoustic (PA) and photothermal properties of the NPs for more effective imaging-guided cancer therapy. Under NIR-II laser irradiation, the Fe-WO3-x NPs produced very strong NIR-II PA and photothermal effects, which significantly enhanced the PA imaging and photothermal treatment effects. On the other hand, Fe2+ in Fe-WO3-x could undergo Fenton reactions with H2O2 in the tumor tissue to generate ·OH for chemodynamic therapy. In addition, Fe-WO3-x can also catalyze the above reactions to produce more reactive oxygen species (ROS) and induce the oxidation of NADH to interfere with intracellular adenosine triphosphate (ATP) synthesis, thereby further improving the efficiency of cancer therapy. Specific imaging of tumor tissue and targeted synergistic therapy was achieved after ligation of a MUC1 aptamer to the surface of the Fe-WO3-x NPs by the complexing of -COOH in MUC1 with tungsten ions on the surface of the NPs. These results demonstrated that Fe-WO3-x NPs could be a promising diagnosis and therapeutic agent for cancer. Such a study opens up new avenues into the rational design of nanodiagnosis and treatment agents for NIR-II PA imaging and cancer therapy.

A versatile nano-transformer for efficient localization-specific imaging and synergistic therapy of bladder cancer

A stepwise morphologic transformation is highly desirable but rarely reported for promoting drug penetration at tumor sites via reducing transport barriers. Herein, an adhesive multifunctional nano-transformer (CTMF NPs) with cascading structural transformation was constructed, which afforded tumor microenvironment (TME)-activatable zero-background 19F-magnetic resonance imaging and ratiometric photoacoustic imaging-guided synergistic tumor therapy. CTMF NPs were synthesized via a one-pot encapsulation and dynamic coordination strategy, where copper sulfide nanoparticles (CuS NPs, photothermal agent) were co-encapsulated with perfluoro-15-crown-5-ether (PFCE, 19F MRI agent) by the dopamine grafted amphiphilic polymer, followed by coating with metal (Mn2+)-polyphenol shell (19F signal quencher and therapeutic agent). Benefiting from polyphenol enhanced cell adherence as well as in situ generated reactive quinone, the CTMF NPs attached to tumor sites and exhibited efficient internalization under TME promoted decomposition and oxidation. Moreover, these nano-platforms were further decomposed under laser irradiation, which amplified cellular oxidative stress, leading to mitochondrial structural damage and dysfunction, as well as facilitating cuproptosis by interfering with the lipoylated tricarboxylic acid cycle. Cell apoptosis subsequently resulted in significant immunogenic cell death and afforded a versatile nano-transformer for precise imaging-guided bladder cancer therapy.

Fabrication of NIR/CT imaging guided xGd-WO3@PEG photothermal agents for cancer therapy

Near-infrared responsive photothermal therapy is an emerging and non-invasive cancer treatment. However, the inability of real-time imaging tracking and monitoring for the photothermal agents (PTAs) severely limits the accuracy of treatment. In this study, a series of visual xGd-WO3@PEG PTAs were synthesized by a one-pot solvothermal method. The effect of different Gd doping amounts on the structure, morphology, and photothermal performance has been investigated in detail. Under the near-infrared laser irradiation, the samples exhibited satisfied photothermal properties of hyperthermia in a short time. The photothermal conversion efficiency and stability of the xGd-WO3@PEG (x = 7 %) were further investigated. Subsequently, the near-infrared thermal and CT imaging performance was studied. The in vitro cell viability on LO2 normal and 4T1 cancer cells have also been conducted. The results showed the xGd-WO3@PEG nanomaterials have excellent potential in imaging-guided photothermal cancer therapy.

D-A-D-structured boron-dipyrromethene with aggregation-induced enhanced phototherapeutic efficiency for near-infrared fluorescent and photoacoustic imaging-guided synergistic photodynamic and photothermal cancer therapy

Clinical phototheranostic agents suffer from low absorption in near-infrared (NIR) region, decreasing singlet oxygen quantum yield (1O2 QY) caused by aggregation in water, and low photothermal conversion efficiency (PCE), all of which are factors weakening their phototheranostic efficacy. Herein, we designed and synthesized a donor-acceptor-donor (D-A-D) structured boron-dipyrromethene derivative (B-2TPA) which exhibited NIR absorption and fluorescence. After being encapsulated in amphiphilic distearoyl phosphoethanolamine polyethyleneglycol 2000 (DSPE-PEG-2000), the water-soluble B-2TPA nanoparticles (NPs) had increasing 1O2 QY (6.7%) due to the intermolecular aggregation-induced decrease in the energy gap between singlet and triplet excited states. Moreover, the quenched fluorescence and stable twisted intramolecular charge transfer in aggregates further increased the PCE of B-2TPA NPs to 60.1%. In vitro and in vivo studies confirmed that B-2TPA NPs could be used in NIR fluorescence and photoacoustic imaging-guided synergistic photodynamic and photothermal therapy in tumor treatment.

Amorphous 2D Mn-doped CoMo-layered double hydroxide nanosheets for magnetic resonance imaging-guided sonodynamic cancer therapy

Sonodynamic therapy (SDT) has attracted increasing attention owing to its superior tissue penetration compared with other therapies. However, the development of multifunctional sonosensitizers with imaging capability and high production efficiency of reactive oxygen species (ROS) is still a challenge for current sonodynamic cancer therapy. Herein, we report the design and preparation of amorphous 2D Mn-doped CoMo-layered double hydroxide (a-Mn-CoMo-LDH) nanosheets (NSs) through acid etching-induced crystalline-to-amorphous phase transformation as a highly active nano-agent for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-guided SDT. The a-Mn-CoMo-LDH NSs exhibit superior ROS production capacity compared with amorphous CoMo-LDH NSs (∼1.3 times) and crystalline Mn-CoMo-LDH NSs (∼3.9 times) under ultrasound (US) irradiation, which is ∼ 9.9 times of the previously reported TiO2 sonosensitizer. The doped Mn4+ in the a-Mn-CoMo-LDH NSs can not only decompose H2O2 into O2 to alleviate the hypoxia level in tumor microenvironment (TME), but also consume glutathione (GSH) to reduce its clearance of ROS, promoting the SDT performance synergistically. Importantly, the GSH consumption can partially reduce the Mn4+ to Mn2+ within the tumors, which can serve as an agent for T1-weighted MRI, thus endowing the a-Mn-CoMo-LDH NSs with excellent MRI capability. Therefore, the as-prepared a-Mn-CoMo-LDH NSs with polyethylene glycol modification can be used as an efficient nano-agent for MRI-guided SDT, which can effectively achieve apoptosis of cancer cells in vitro and eradication of tumors in vivo under US irradiation.

Integrating Anion-π+ Interaction and Crowded Conformation to Develop Multifunctional NIR AIEgen for Effective Tumor Theranostics via Hippo-YAP Pathway.

The technology of aggregation-induced emission (AIE) presents a promising avenue for fluorescence imaging-guided photodynamic cancer therapy. However, existing near-infrared AIE photosensitizers (PSs) frequently encounter limitations, including tedious synthesis, poor tumor retention, and a limited understanding of the underlying molecular biology mechanism. Herein, an effective molecular design paradigm of anion-π+ interaction combined with the inherently crowded conformation that could enhance fluorescence efficacy and reactive oxygen species generation was proposed through a concise synthetic method. Mechanistically, upon photosensitization, the Hippo signaling pathway contributes to the death of melanoma cells and promotes the nuclear location of its downstream factor, yes-associated protein, which regulates the transcription and expression of apoptosis-related genes. The finding in this study would trigger the development of high-performance and versatile AIE PSs for precision cancer therapy based on a definite regulatory mechanism.

Bioactivable STING Nanoagonists to Synergize NIR-II Mild Photothermal Therapy Primed Robust and Long-Term Anticancer Immunity.

Pharmacological activation of the stimulator of interferon genes (STING) pathway has become a promising strategy for cancer immunotherapy. However, the insufficient tumorous accumulation, rapid clearance, and short duration of drug efficacy in the tumor microenvironment of small structural STING agonists greatly compromise the therapeutic efficacy. Herein, a tumorous extracellular matrix (ECM) is presented anchoring STING agonist-based photoimmunothernostic nanomedicine (SAPTN) that can be activated by mild-temperature photothermal therapy (mild PTT) induced neutrophilic inflammation. The SAPTN owns second window near-infrared (NIR-II) photonics properties fitting for NIR-II fluorescence and photoacoustic imaging-guided cancer therapy. The aggregates SAPTN targeting to the ECM provide slow and continuous release of potent STING agonists diABZIs. The mild PTT and long-lasting STING agonists released in the ECM synergisticallyprime systematic, robust, and long-term anticancer immunity. In a tumor model, this approach leads to complete tumor eradication in about 100% of mice with orthotopic breast tumors, and the mice regained tumor-free survival of at least 2 months. In addition, the immune-mediated abscopal effect shows inhibition of the distant solid tumor growth by intratumoral administration of SAPTN with laser irradiation. Overall, this approach represents a generalized photoactivable nanomedicine to prime anticancer immunity for improved cancer theranostics.

Red/NIR emissive aggregation-induced emission-active photosensitizers with strong donor-acceptor strength for image-guided photodynamic therapy of cancer.

Light-mediated therapies such as photodynamic therapy (PDT) are considered emerging cancer treatment strategies. However, there are still lots of defect with common photosensitizers (PSs), such as short emission wavelength, weak photostability, poor cell permeability, and low PDT efficiency. Therefore, it is very important to develop high-performance PSs. Recently, luminogens with aggregation-induced emission (AIE) characteristics and red/near-infrared (NIR) emissive have been reported as promising PSs for image-guided cancer therapy, due to them being able to prevent autofluorescence in physiological environments, their enhanced fluorescence in the aggregated state, and generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Herein, we developed PSs named TBTCPM and MTBTCPM with donor-acceptor (D-A) structures, strong red/NIR, excellent targeting specificities to good cell permeability, and high photostability. Interestingly, both of them can efficiently generate ROS under white light irradiation and possess excellent killing effect on cancer cells. This study, thus, not only demonstrates applications in cell image-guided PDT cancer therapy performances but also provides strategy for construction of AIEgens with long emission wavelengths.

Controlled delivery of sildenafil by β-Cyclodextrin-decorated sulfur-doped carbon nanodots: a synergistic activation of ROS signaling in tumors overexpressing PDE-5

Fluorescent sulfur- and nitrogen-doped carbon nanodots (CDs) are zero-dimensional nanoparticles that mediate ROS production in cancer cells, displaying inherent anticancer properties. Thus, they have been proposed as nanotheranostic tools useful in image-guided cancer therapy. Here, we try to show that cancerous cells (high PDE-5 expression) receiving sildenafil delivered by CDs-based nanostructures promote positive reinforcement of PDE-5-mediated cell death via the overexpression of genes involved in the production of ROS.We explored the regioselective Huisgen cycloaddition between azide-β-cyclodextrin and CDs-alkyne to synthetize homogeneous nanostructures, named CDs-PEG4-β-Cdx, consisting of CDs functionalized at the surface with β-cyclodextrins capable of including high amount drugs such as sildenafil (>20 % w/w), and releasing them in a controlled manner. We investigated how CDs-PEG4-β-Cdx bearing sildenafil enter cells, enhancing ROS production and cell death specifically in cancer cells overexpressing PDE-5. These nanoplatforms go beyond the bounds of EPR-based nanomedicines in which carriers are conceived as inert vehicles of toxic drugs. Our findings enable the development of clever anticancer nanoplatforms that synergistically combine nanomedicines that perturb the mitochondrial electron transport chain (ROS production) with PDE-5 inhibitors which trigger oxidative stress specifically in cancer cells regardless of their location.

Mn2+ /Ir3+ -Doped and CaCO3 -Covered Prussian Blue Nanoparticles with Indocyanine Green Encapsulation for Tumor Microenvironment Modulation and Image-Guided Synergistic Cancer Therapy.

The development of smart theranostic nanoplatforms has gained great interest in effective cancer treatment against the complex tumor microenvironment (TME), including weak acidity, hypoxia, and glutathione (GSH) overexpression. Herein, a TME-responsive nanoplatform named PMICApt /ICG, based on PB:Mn&Ir@CaCO3 Aptamer /ICG, is designed for the competent synergistic photothermal therapy and photodynamic therapy (PDT) under the guidance of photothermal and magnetic resonance imaging. The nanoplatform's aptamer modification targeting the transferrin receptor and the epithelial cell adhesion molecule on breast cancer cells, and the acid degradable CaCO3 shell allow for effective tumor accumulation and TME-responsive payload release in situ. The nanoplatform also exhibits excellent PDT properties due to its ability to generate O2 and consume antioxidant GSH in tumors. Additionally, the synergistic therapy is achieved by a single wavelength of near-infrared laser. RNA sequencing is performed to identify differentially expressed genes, which show that the expressions of proliferation and migration-associated genes are inhibited, while the apoptosis and immune response gene expressions are upregulated after the synergistic treatments. This multifunctional nanoplatform that responds to the TME to realize the on-demand payload release and enhance PDT induced by TME modulation holds great promise for clinical applications in tumor therapy.

Gadolinium-Doped Carbon Nanodots as Potential Anticancer Tools for Multimodal Image-Guided Photothermal Therapy and Tumor Monitoring.

This study focuses on the synthesis and characterization of gadolinium-doped carbon nanodots (CDs-Gd) and their potential applications in multimodal imaging and precision cancer therapy. CDs-Gd were synthesized through a solvothermal decomposition method combining citric acid, GdCl3, and urea. The incorporation of Gd3+ ions within the carbonaceous structure resulted in stable CDs-Gd with a peculiar architecture that retained optical and paramagnetic properties. Combined characterization techniques confirmed the presence of pH-sensitive COOH functions on the CDs-Gd surface along with the unique lattice structure induced by Gd3+ doping. The optical properties of CDs-Gd exhibited a tunable emission spectrum displaying blue-green emission with pH-dependent behavior. Additionally, CDs-Gd exhibited contrast-enhancing properties in T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) experiments. MRI acquisitions at different Gd3+ concentrations and pH values demonstrated the potential of CDs-Gd as contrast agents for monitoring pH changes in an aqueous environment. We found that the relaxivity of CDs-Gd at pH 5.5 (tumor, 11.3 mM-1 s-1) is roughly 3-fold higher than that observed at pH 7.4 (physiological, 5.0 mM-1 s-1) and outperformed clinical standards such as γ-butyrol (3.3 mM-1 s-1). Monitoring pH changes in tumor microenvironment (TME) is crucial for evaluating the effectiveness of anticancer treatments and understanding tumor progression. Furthermore, CDs-Gd demonstrated concentration-dependent photothermal conversion ability in the near-infrared (NIR) region, allowing for efficient heat generation under laser irradiation. This indicates the potential application of CDs-Gd in image-guided photothermal therapy (IG-PTT) for cancer treatment. The in vitro studies on MCF-7 (breast cancer) and 16-HBE (healthy bronchial epithelium) cell lines demonstrated that CDs-Gd exhibited high biocompatibility (cell viability >80%). However, upon NIR activation, they showed potent anticancer effects by inhibiting tumor cell proliferation and inducing apoptosis selectively in cancer cells. In conclusion, the synthesized CDs-Gd nanoparticles possess unique optical, photothermal, and MRI contrast properties, making them promising candidates for multimodal imaging-guided precision cancer therapy applications.

Facile and green fabrication of tumor- and mitochondria-targeted AIEgen-protein nanoparticles for imaging-guided photodynamic cancer therapy.

In recent years, aggregation-induced emission (AIE)-active materials have been emerging as a promising means for bioimaging and phototherapy. However, the majority of AIE luminogens (AIEgens) need to be encapsulated into versatile nanocomposites to improve their biocompatibility and tumor targeting. Herein, we prepared a tumor- and mitochondria-targeted protein nanocage by the fusion of human H-chain ferritin (HFtn) with a tumor homing and penetrating peptide LinTT1 using genetic engineering technology. The LinTT1-HFtn could serve as a nanocarrier to encapsulate AIEgens via a simple pH-driven disassembly/reassembly process, thereby fabricating the dual-targeting AIEgen-protein nanoparticles (NPs). The as designed NPs exhibited an improved hepatoblastoma-homing property and tumor penetrating ability, which is favorable for tumor-targeted fluorescence imaging. The NPs also presented a mitochondria-targeting ability, and efficiently generated reactive oxygen species (ROS) upon visible light irradiation, making them valuable for inducing efficient mitochondrial dysfunction and intrinsic apoptosis in cancer cells. In vivo experiments demonstrated that the NPs could provide the accurate tumor imaging and dramatic tumor growth inhibition with minimal side effects. Taken together, this study presents a facile and green approach for fabrication of tumor- and mitochondria-targeted AIEgen-protein NPs, which can serve as a promising strategy for imaging-guided photodynamic cancer therapy. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE: AIE luminogens (AIEgens) show strong fluorescence and enhanced ROS generation in the aggregate state, which would facilitate the image-guided photodynamic therapy [12-14]. However, the major obstacles that hinder biological applications are their lack of hydrophilicity and selective targeting [15]. To address this issue, this study presents a facile and green approach for the fabrication of tumor‑ and mitochondria‑targeted AIEgen-protein nanoparticles via a simple disassembly/reassembly of the LinTT1 peptide-functionalized ferritin nanocage without any harmful chemicals or chemical modification. The targeting peptide-functionalized nanocage not only restricts the intramolecular motion of AIEgens leading to enhanced fluorescence and ROS production, but also confers good targeting to AIEgens.

Exceedingly Small Magnetic Iron Oxide Nanoparticles for T1 -Weighted Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Imaging-Guided Therapy of Tumors.

Magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (MIONs) based T2 -weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) contrast agents (CAs) are liver-specific with good biocompatibility, but have been withdrawn from the market and replaced with Eovist (Gd-EOB-DTPA) due to their inherent limitations (e.g., susceptibility to artifacts, high magnetic moment, dark signals, long processing time of T2 imaging, and long waiting time for patients after administration). Without the disadvantages of Gd-chelates and MIONs, the recently emerging exceedingly small MIONs (ES-MIONs) (<5nm) are promising T1 CAs for MRI. However, there are rare review articles focusing on ES-MIONs for T1 -weighted MRI. Herein, the recent progress of ES-MIONs, including synthesis methods (the current basic synthesis methods and improved methods), surface modifications (artificial polymers, natural polymers, zwitterions, and functional protein), T1 -MRI visual strategies (structural remodeling, reversible self-assemblies, metal ions doped, T1 /T2 dual imaging modes, and PET/MRI strategy), and imaging-guided cancer therapy (chemotherapy, gene therapy, ferroptosis therapy, photothermal therapy, photodymatic therapy, radiotherapy, immuotherapy, sonodynamic therapy, and multimode therapy), is summarized. The detailed description of synthesis methods and applications of ES-MIONs in this review is anticipated to attract extensive interest from researchers in different fields and promote their participation in the establishment of ES-MIONs based nanoplatforms for tumor theranostics.

Redox ferrocenylseleno compounds modulate longitudinal and transverse relaxation times of FNPs-Gd MRI contrast agents for multimodal imaging and photo-Fenton therapy.

Developing a feasible way to feature longitudinal (T1) and transverse (T2) relaxation performance of contrast agents for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is important in cancer diagnosis and therapy. Improved accessibility to water molecule is essential for accelerating the relaxation rate of water protons around the contrast agents. Ferrocenyl compounds have reversible redox property for modulating the hydrophobicity/hydrophilicity of assemblies. Thus, they could be the candidates that can change water accessibility to the contrast agent surface. Herein, we incorporated ferrocenylseleno compound (FcSe) with Gd3+-based paramagnetic UCNPs, to obtain FNPs-Gd nanocomposites using T1-T2 MR/UCL trimodal imaging and simultaneous photo-Fenton therapy. When the surface of NaGdF4:Yb,Tm UNCPs was ligated by FcSe, the hydrogen bonding between hydrophilic selenium and surrounding water molecules accelerated their proton exchange to initially endow FNPs-Gd with high r1 relaxivity. Then, hydrogen nuclei from FcSe disrupted the homogeneity of the magnetic field around the water molecules. This facilitated T2 relaxation and resulted in enhanced r2 relaxivity. Notably, upon the near-infrared light-promoted Fenton-like reaction in the tumor microenvironment, hydrophobic ferrocene(II) of FcSe was oxidized into hydrophilic ferrocenium(III), which further increased the relaxation rate of water protons to obtain r1=1.90±0.12 mM-1 s-1 and r2=12.80±0.60 mM-1 s-1. With an ideal relaxivity ratio (r2/r1) of 6.74, FNPs-Gd exhibited high contrast potential of T1-T2 dual-mode MRI in vitro and in vivo. This work confirms that ferrocene and selenium are effective boosters that enhance the T1-T2 relaxivities of MRI contrast agents, which could provide a new strategy for multimodal imaging-guided photo-Fenton therapy of tumors. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE: T1-T2 dual-mode MRI nanoplatform with tumor-microenvironment-responsive features has been an attractive prospect. Herein, we designed redox ferrocenylseleno compound (FcSe) modified paramagnetic Gd3+-based UCNPs, to modulate T1-T2 relaxation time for multimodal imaging and H2O2-responsive photo-Fenton therapy. Selenium-hydrogen bond of FcSe with surrounding water molecules facilitated water accessibility for fast T1 relaxation. Hydrogen nucleus in FcSe perturbed the phase coherence of water molecules in an inhomogeneous magnetic field and thus accelerated T2 relaxation. In tumor microenvironment, FcSe was oxidized into hydrophilic ferrocenium via NIR light-promoted Fenton-like reaction which further increased both T1 and T2 relaxation rates; Meanwhile, the released toxic •OH performed on-demand cancer therapy. This work confirms that FcSe is an effective redox mediate for multimodal imaging-guided cancer therapy.

Biomimetic Theranostic Agents with Superior NIR-II Photoacoustic and Magnetic Resonance Imaging Performance for Targeted Photothermal Therapy of Prostate Cancer.

The accurate diagnosis and treatment of prostate cancer at an early stage is crucial to reduce mortality rates. However, the limited availability of theranostic agents with active tumor-targeting abilities hinders imaging sensitivity and therapeutic efficiency. To address this challenge, we have developed biomimetic cell membrane-modified Fe2O3 nanoclusters implanted in polypyrrole (CM-LFPP), achieving photoacoustic/magnetic resonance dual-modal imaging-guided photothermal therapy of prostate cancer. The CM-LFPP exhibits strong absorption in the second near-infrared window (NIR-II, 1000-1700 nm), showing high photothermal conversion efficiency of up to 78.7% under 1064 nm laser irradiation, excellent photoacoustic imaging capabilities, and good magnetic resonance imaging ability with a T2 relaxivity of up to 48.7 s-1 mM-1. Furthermore, the lipid encapsulation and biomimetic cell membrane modification enable CM-LFPP to actively target tumors, leading to a high signal-to-background ratio of ~30.2 for NIR-II photoacoustic imaging. Moreover, the biocompatible CM-LFPP enables low-dose (0.6 W cm-2) photothermal therapy of tumors under 1064 nm laser irradiation. This technology offers a promising theranostic agent with remarkable photothermal conversion efficiency in the NIR-II window, providing highly sensitive photoacoustic/magnetic resonance imaging-guided prostate cancer therapy.

Molybdenum-oxo-sulfide quantum dot-based nanocarrier: Efficient generation of reactive oxygen species via photo/chemodynamic therapy and stimulus-induced drug release

The fabrication of multifunctional nano-therapies has increased gradually to strengthen the therapeutic performance and minimize adverse effects of traditional cancer treatment strategies. Currently, we have designed a facile preparation drug-loaded nanocarrier for multimodal cancer therapy upon external stimuli. First, defect-rich molybdenum oxo-sulfide (MoOxS2-x) quantum dots (QDs) was synthesized via rapid biomineralization techniques with superior optical quantum yield reaching upto 37.28%. The presence of the Fenton ion, Mo+IV/+VI, enables MoOxS2-x QDs to efficiently catalyze peroxide solutions to produce •OH radicals for chemodynamic treatment (CDT) and also deactivate the intracellular glutathione (GSH) enzymes through redox reaction for boosted reactive oxygen species (ROS)-mediated therapies. In addition, upon laser combination, MoOxS2-x QDs generate ROS for photodynamic therapy (PDT). Also, due to a large amount of sulfide content, MoOxS2-x QDs showed excellent H2S gas release in acidic pH for cancer gas therapy. Then, MoOxS2-x QDs was further conjugated with ROS-responsive thioketal linked Camptothecin (CPT-TK-COOH) drug, forming a multitargeted MoOxS2-xCPT anticancer agent with better drug-loading efficiency (38.8%). After triggering the ROS generation through the CDT and PDT mechanisms, the thioketal linkage was disrupted, releasing up to 79% of the CPT drug in 48 h. Besides, in vitro experiments verified that MoOxS2-x QDs possess higher biocompatibility with 4T1 and HeLa cells but also showed considerable toxicity in the presence of laser/H2O2, resulting in 84.45% cell death through PDT/CDT and chemotherapeutic effects. Therefore, the designed MoOxS2-xCPT exhibited outstanding therapeutic benefits for image-guided cancer therapy.

Biocompatible Red Blood Membrane-Carbon Dot Hybrids for Near-Infrared Imaging-Guided Chemotherapy

The hydrophobicity has been known as a pivotal factor limiting the therapeutic capacity of cancer drugs. Biocompatible nanocarriers as a potential platform for drug delivery can increase the solubility of hydrophobic drugs and prolong drug half-life, therefore improving therapeutic efficacies. Herein, we use the treated red blood cell membrane (RBM) as a nanocarrier to delivery hydrophobic carbon dot and paclitaxel (RBM-CD–PTX) for imaging-guided chemotherapy. The CD in RBM-CD with good biosafety endows them with excellent optical properties for fluorescent imaging from visible light to near-infrared light in cellular and animal models. The RBM-CD exhibited a high PTX loading capacity (loading capacity, 30.23%). The RBM-CD–PTX can be easily delivered and efficiently accumulated in tumor tissues, releasing PTX molecules to inhibit tumor growth. Such a nanoplatform manifests great potential to deliver clinical reagents for imaging-guided cancer therapy.

CD133-Targeted Hybrid Nanovesicles for Fluorescent/Ultrasonic Imaging-Guided HIFU Pancreatic Cancer Therapy.

Pancreatic cancer is regarded as one of the most lethal types of tumor in the world, and optional way to treat the tumor are urgently needed. Cancer stem cells (CSCs) play a key role in the occurrence and development of pancreatic tumors. CD133 is a specific antigen for targeting the pancreatic CSCs subpopulation. Previous studies have shown that CSC-targeted therapy is effective in inhibiting tumorigenesis and transmission. However, CD133 targeted therapy combined with HIFU for pancreatic cancer is absent. To improve therapeutic efficiency and minimize side effects, we carry a potent combination of CSCs antibody with synergist by an effective and visualized delivery nanocarrier to pancreatic cancer. Multifunctional CD133-targeted nanovesicles (CD133-grafted Cy5.5/PFOB@P-HVs) with encapsulated perfluorooctyl bromide (PFOB) in a 3-mercaptopropyltrimethoxysilane (MPTMS) shell modified with poly ethylene glycol (PEG) and superficially modified with CD133 and Cy 5.5 were constructed following the prescribed order. The nanovesicles were characterized for the biological and chemical characteristics feature. We explored the specific targeting capacity in vitro and the therapeutic effect in vivo. The in vitro targeting experiment and in vivo FL and ultrasonic experiments showed the aggregation of CD133-grafted Cy5.5/PFOB@P-HVs around CSCs. In vivo FL imaging experiments demonstrated that the nanovesicles assemble for the highest concentration in the tumor at 24 h after administration. Under HIFU irradiation, the synergistic efficacy of the combination of the CD133-targeting carrier and HIFU for tumor treatment was obvious. CD133-grafted Cy5.5/PFOB@P-HVs combined with HIFU irradiation could enhance the tumor treatment effect not only by improving the delivery of nanovesicles but also by enhancing the HIFU thermal and mechanical effects in the tumor microenvironment, which is a highly effective targeted therapy for treating pancreatic cancer.

Automatic-degradable Mo-doped W18O49 based nanotheranostics for CT/FL imaging guided synergistic chemo/photothermal/chemodynamic therapy

The development of nanotherapeutics that can efficiently inhibit tumors and rapidly degrade in both cured and healthy tissues remains a research imperative. Herein, we developed tumor microenvironment (TME)-responsive Mo-doped W18O49 nanobundles (MoWO NBs), which are co-assembled hyaluronic acid (HA) and doxorubicin (DOX) to achieve CT/FL imaging-guided multimodal cancer therapy. MoWO NBs exhibit multiple merits: (1) MoWO NBs degrade rapidly in the normal physiological environment but slowly in the weakly acidic TME, which leads to the selective accumulation of MoWO NBs at tumor sites and can prolong the therapeutic effect. (2) The existing Mo4+ and W5+ ions in MoWO NBs bestow the NBs with Fenton-like reaction activity to generate cytotoxic hydroxyl radicals (OH) from endogenous H2O2. Meanwhile, overexpressed glutathione (GSH) can reduce Mo6+ and W6+ ions in MoWO NBs to lower valence states, further enhancing the chemodynamic activity of MoWO NBs. (3) Under NIR-II laser irradiation, MoWO with a photothermal conversion efficiency of 45.5% could trigger powerful photothermal therapeutic effects in vitro and in vivo. (4) Owing to the fluorescence emission of DOX and the high Z-elements of molybdenum and tungsten, fluorescence (FL) imaging and computed tomography (CT) imaging have the potential to be used to monitor the biodistribution of Mo-W18O49@DOX@HA (MoWODH) in vivo. More importantly, the synergistic Chemo/PTT/CDT of MoWODH NCs greatly inhibited tumor growth. This work may broaden the path for smart nanomaterials and TME-responsive therapies.