Polymeric nanocarriers incorporating near-infrared absorbing agents for potent photothermal therapy of cancer

Nanoparticle-mediated thermal Cancer therapies: Strategies to improve clinical translatability

Despite significant advances, cancer remains a leading global cause of death. Current therapies often fail due to incomplete tumor removal and nonspecific targeting, spurring interest in alternative treatments. Hyperthermia, which uses elevated temperatures to kill cancer cells or boost their sensitivity to radio/chemotherapy, has emerged as a promising alternative. Recent advancements employ nanoparticles (NPs) as heat mediators for selective cancer cell destruction, minimizing damage to healthy tissues. This approach, known as NP hyperthermia, falls into two categories: photothermal therapies (PTT) and magnetothermal therapies (MTT). PTT utilizes NPs that convert light to heat, while MTT uses magnetic NPs activated by alternating magnetic fields (AMF), both achieving localized tumor damage. These methods offer advantages like precise targeting, minimal invasiveness, and reduced systemic toxicity. However, the efficacy of NP hyperthermia depends on many factors, in particular, the NP properties, the tumor microenvironment (TME), and TME-NP interactions. Optimizing this treatment requires accurate heat monitoring strategies, such as nanothermometry and biologically relevant screening models that can better mimic the physiological features of the tumor in the human body. This review explores the state-of-the-art in NP-mediated cancer hyperthermia, discussing available nanomaterials, their strengths and weaknesses, characterization methods, and future directions. Our particular focus lies in preclinical NP screening techniques, providing an updated perspective on their efficacy and relevance in the journey towards clinical trials.

Tailoring Phage Nanosomes for Enhanced Theranostic Properties of Near Infrared Dyes

Near-infrared (NIR) phototherapies offer noninvasive, cost-effective solutions for treating tumors and microbial infections. However, organic NIR dyes commonly used suffer from solubility and stability issues requiring frequent dosing. We address this challenge by exploring the bacteriophage-mediated enhancement of NIR dye properties. Upon encapsulation within phage nanosomes, IR780 and Indocyanine green (ICG), with similar optical properties but distinct water solubility and exhibit enhanced UV-vis absorbance and photothermal transduction efficacy compared to liposomes. Experimental characterization corroborated with all-atom molecular dynamics simulations imprints the nanoscale structure, solubility, dynamics, and binding of these NIR dye molecules to the membrane and protein molecules present in Phage capsid. These NIR dye-loaded phage nanosomes, coencapsulated with mitoxantrone, demonstrate enhanced anticancer activity, and when combined with amphotericin B, these dye molecules exhibit superior photothermal effects against fungal infections. Our findings present a simple and efficient approach for tuning the photothermal performance of existing NIR dyes through a rational design for enhanced therapeutic outcomes.

The futuristic applications of transition metal dichalcogenides for cancer therapy

The second-most common cause of death resulting from genetic mutations in DNA sequences is cancer. The difficulty in the field of anticancer research is the application of the traditional methods, which also affects normal cells. Mutations, genetic replication alterations, and chromosomal abnormalities have a direct impact on the effectiveness of anticancer drugs at different stages. Presently, therapeutic techniques utilize nanotechnology, transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs), and robotics. TMDCs are being increasingly employed in tumor therapy and biosensing applications due to their biocompatibility, adjustable bandgap, versatile functionality, exceptional photoelectric properties, and wide range of applications. This study reports the advancement of nanoplatforms based on TMDCs that are specifically engineered for responsive and intelligent cancer therapy. This article offers a thorough examination of the current challenges, future possibilities for theranostic applications using TMDCs, and recent progress in employing TMDCs for cancer therapy. Currently, there is significant interest in two-dimensional (2D) TMDCs nanomaterials as ultrathin unique physicochemical properties. These materials have attracted attention in various fields, including biomedicine. Due to their inherent ability to absorb near-infrared light and their exceptionally large surface area, significant efforts are being made to prepare multifunctional nanoplatforms based on 2D TMDCs.

May carriers at nanoscale improve the Endodontic's future?

Nanocarriers (NCs) are dynamic nanovehicles used to transport bioactive derivatives like therapeutical formulations, drugs and/or dyes. The current review assists in understanding the mechanism of action of several recent developed NCs with antimicrobial purposes. Here, nine NCs varieties are portrayed with focus on nineteen approaches that are fulfil described based on outcomes obtained from in vitro antimicrobial assays. All approaches have previously been verified and we underline the biochemical challenges of all NCs, expecting that the present data may encourage the application of NCs in endodontic antimicrobial basic research. Methodological limitations and the evident base gaps made not possible to draw a definite conclusion about the best NCs for achieving efficient antimicrobial outcomes in endodontic studies. Due to the lack of pre-clinical trials and the scarce number of clinical trials in this emergent area, there is still much room for improvement on several fronts.

A novel donor-acceptor structured diketopyrrolopyrrole-based conjugated polymer synthesized by direct arylation polycondensation (DArP) for highly efficient antimicrobial photothermal therapy

A novel donor (D)-acceptor (A) structured conjugated polymer (PDPP-TP), which contains two alternating D-A pairs, namely thiophene (T)-diketopyrrolopyrrole (DPP) and thiophenen (T)-thieno[3,4-b]pyrazine (TP) along the main chain of the polymer, was synthesized by direct arylation polycondensation (DArP) for a highly efficient photothermal antibacterial treatment. The hydrophilic PDPP-TP-based nanoparticles (PTNPs) with a hydration diameter of about 120 nm were obtained by self-assembly using DSPE-mPEG₂₀₀₀ as the polymer matrix. PTNPs show strong near-infrared (NIR) absorbance with a λ_max at 910 nm (ε = 2.25 × 10⁴ L mol^-1 cm^-1) and NIR light-triggered photoactivity with a high photothermal conversion efficiency (PTCE) of 52.8% under 880 nm laser irradiation. Keeping the merits of excellent biocompatibility and photostability, PTNPs exhibited remarkable bacterial inhibition efficiency of almost 100% against Gram-negative E. coli and Gram-positive S. aureus with the help of an 880 nm laser (0.7 W cm^-2, 6 min), demonstrating its great potential as photothermal materials with a broad spectrum of activity for the effective treatment of microbial infections.

Manipulating Host-Guest Charge Transfer of a Water-Soluble Double-Cavity Cyclophane for NIR-II Photothermal Therapy

Water-soluble small organic photothermal agents (PTAs) over NIR-II biowindow (1000-1350 nm) are highly desirable, but the rarity greatly limits their applications. Based on a water-soluble double-cavity cyclophane GBox-4⁴⁺ , we report a class of host-guest charge transfer (CT) complexes as structurally uniform PTAs for NIR-II photothermal therapy. As a result of its high electron-deficiency, GBox-4⁴⁺ can bind different electron-rich planar guests with a 1 : 2 host/guest stoichiometry to readily tune the CT absorption band that extends to the NIR-II region. When using a diaminofluorene guest substituted with an oligoethylene glycol chain, the host-guest system realized both good biocompatibility and enhanced photothermal conversion at 1064 nm, and was then exploited as a high-efficiency NIR-II PTA for cancer cell and bacterial ablation. This work broadens the potential applications of host-guest cyclophane systems and provides a new access to bio-friendly NIR-II photoabsorbers with well-defined structures.

Research progress on black phosphorus hybrids hydrogel platforms for biomedical applications

Hydrogels, also known as three-dimensional, flexible, and polymer networks, are composed of natural and/or synthetic polymers with exceptional properties such as hydrophilicity, biocompatibility, biofunctionality, and elasticity. Researchers in biomedicine, biosensing, pharmaceuticals, energy and environment, agriculture, and cosmetics are interested in hydrogels. Hydrogels have limited adaptability for complicated biological information transfer in biomedical applications due to their lack of electrical conductivity and low mechanical strength, despite significant advances in the development and use of hydrogels. The nano-filler-hydrogel hybrid system based on supramolecular interaction between host and guest has emerged as one of the potential solutions to the aforementioned issues. Black phosphorus, as one of the representatives of novel two-dimensional materials, has gained a great deal of interest in recent years owing to its exceptional physical and chemical properties, among other nanoscale fillers. However, a few numbers of publications have elaborated on the scientific development of black phosphorus hybrid hydrogels extensively. In this review, this review thus summarized the benefits of black phosphorus hybrid hydrogels and highlighted the most recent biological uses of black phosphorus hybrid hydrogels. Finally, the difficulties and future possibilities of the development of black phosphorus hybrid hydrogels are reviewed in an effort to serve as a guide for the application and manufacture of black phosphorus -based hydrogels. Recent applications of black phosphorus hybrid hydrogels in biomedicine.

Water-Soluble and Degradable Gelatin/Polyaniline Assemblies with a High Photothermal Conversion Efficiency for pH-Switchable Precise Photothermal Therapy

Photothermal therapy (PTT) is regarded as one of the potential techniques to replace surgery in the treatment of tumors. Polyaniline (PANI) shows better biocompatibility than inorganic reagents, which has been widely used in tumor photoacoustic (PA) imaging and PTT. However, the poor water solubility and nonspecific aggregation of PANI nanoparticles severely restricted their biomedical application. In addition, it is difficult to control the photothermal effect just on cancer cells. Herein, we develop tumor pH-responsive PANI-Gel/Cu assemblies, which can achieve targeted and precise ablation of tumors. Due to the high hydrophilicity of gelatin, the PANI-Gel/Cu assemblies show excellent dispersion in physiological solutions and long-term stability. By taking advantage of the self-doping effect between the carboxyl groups in gelatin and the imine part of the PANI skeleton, the photothermal characteristics of PANI-Gel/Cu assemblies can be promoted effectively by the acid tumor microenvironment, and the PA imaging of PANI-Gel/Cu assemblies can also be activated by tumor pH. Consequently, both the PTT enhancement and PA signal amplification can be triggered under a tumor microenvironment, and PANI-Gel/Cu assemblies can be targeted to cancer cells with the RGD sequences in their gelatin skeleton. In vivo imaging-guided PTT to A549 cancer shows precise treatment with little harm to normal cells, and PANI-Gel/Cu assemblies can disassemble into tiny particles (<15 nm) under laser irradiation. This work overcomes the intrinsic limitation of PANI materials, i.e., poor water solubility and nonspecific aggregation, meanwhile providing a pH-active PANI-based platform for precise and effective ablation of cancer.

Recent advances in nanoparticle-based photothermal therapy for breast cancer

Breast cancer is one of the most common cancers among women that is associated with high mortality. Conventional treatments including surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy, which are not effective enough and have disadvantages such as toxicity and damage to healthy cells. Photothermal therapy (PTT) of cancer cells has been took great attention by researchers in recent years due to the use of light radiation and heat generation at the tumor site, which thermal ablation is considered a minimally invasive method for the treatment of breast cancer. Nanotechnology has opened up a new perspective in the treatment of breast cancer using PTT method. Through NIR light absorption, researchers applied various nanostructures because of their specific nature of penetrating and targeting tumor tissue, increasing the effectiveness of PTT, and combining it with other treatments. If PTT is used with common cancer treatments, it can dramatically increase the effectiveness of treatment and reduce the side effects of other methods. PTT performance can also be improved by hybridizing at least two different nanomaterials. Nanoparticles that intensely absorb light and increase the efficiency of converting light into heat can specifically kill tumors through hyperthermia of cancer cells. One of the main reasons that have increased the efficiency of nanoparticles in PTT is their permeability and durability effect and they can accumulate in tumor tissue. Targeted PTT can be provided by incorporating specific ligands to target receptors expressed on the surface of cancer cells on nanoparticles. These nanoparticles can specifically target cancer cells by maintaining the surface area and increasing penetration. In this study, we briefly introduce the performance of light therapy, application of metal nanoparticles, polymer nanoparticles, carbon nanoparticles, and hybrid nanoparticles for use in PTT of breast cancer.

A plasmon-enhanced fluorescent gold coated novel lipo-polymeric hybrid nanosystem: synthesis, characterization and application for imaging and photothermal therapy of breast cancer

This study reports a hybrid lipo-polymeric nanosystem (PDPC NPs) synthesized by a modified hydrogel-isolation technique. The ability of the nanosystem to encapsulate hydrophilic and hydrophobic molecules has been demonstrated, and their enhanced cellular uptake has been observed in vitro. The PDPC NPs, surface coated with gold by in situ reduction of chloroauric acid (PDPC-Au NPs), showed a photothermal transduction efficacy of ∼65%. The PDPC-Au NPs demonstrated an increase in intracellular ROS, triggered DNA damage and resulted in apoptotic cell death when tested against breast cancer cells (MCF-7). The disintegration of PDPC-Au NPs into smaller nanoparticles with near-infrared (NIR) laser irradiation was understood using transmission electron microscopy imaging. The lipo-polymeric hybrid nanosystem exhibited plasmon-enhanced fluorescence when loaded with IR780 (a NIR dye), followed by surface coating with gold (PDPC-IR-Au NPs). This paper is one of the first reports on the plasmon-enhanced fluorescence within a nanosystem by simple surface coating of Au, to the best of our knowledge. This plasmon-enhanced fluorescence was unique to the lipo-polymeric hybrid system, as the same was not observed with a liposomal nanosystem. The plasmon-enhanced fluorescence of PDPC-IR-Au NPs, when applied for imaging cancer cells and zebrafish embryos, showed a strong fluorescence signal at minimal concentrations of the dye. The PDPC-IR-Au NPs were also applied for photothermal therapy of breast cancer in vitro and in vivo, and the results depicted significant therapeutic benefits.

Nanoarchitectured Graphene Organic Framework for Drug Delivery and Chemo-photothermal Synergistic Therapy

The combination of phototherapy and chemotherapy has received extensive attention in the field of cancer therapy. Hence, graphene organic framework (GOF) with a large d-spacing was prepared by solvothermal method, and a novel nanocomposite based on bovine serum albumin (BSA) and the anticancer drug doxorubicin (DOX) was developed, which effectively achieved a photothermal-chemotherapy synergistic treatment. When the feeding ratio was 1:1.6, the DOX loading capacity was 18.51%, and the GOF-BSA/DOX nanocomposite possessed unobvious pH response characteristic, as well as the cumulative release of DOX reached 54.17% at 42°C in the acidic environment (pH = 5.0). The nanocarriers also showed excellent photothermal property and photothermal stability in vitro. In addition, under 808 nm near-infrared laser (NIR) irradiation, the GOF-BSA/DOX nanocomposites generated a large amount of heat, which significantly enhanced the synergistic antitumor effect of in vitro photothermal-chemotherapy. Furthermore, the GOF-BSA/DOX nanocomposites exhibited significantly increased cytotoxicity in the NIR compared with chemotherapy or photothermal therapy alone, suggesting that the combination of chemotherapy and photothermal therapy has excellent antitumor capacity. Therefore, porous GOF nanocarriers may have great potential in combined anti-tumour therapy.

Controllable synthesis of layered black bismuth oxidechloride nanosheets and their applications in internal tumor ablation

The recently emerging bismuth oxyhalide (BiOX) nanomaterials are promising indirect band gap photosensitizer for ultraviolet (UV) light triggered phototherapy due to their unique layered nanosheet structure. However, the low absorption and poor photothermal conversion efficiency have always impeded their further applications in cancer clinical therapy. Herein, BiOCl rich in oxygen vacancies has been reported to have full spectrum absorption properties, making it possible to achieve photothermal property under near-infrared (NIR) laser. Under 808 nm irradiation, the photothermal conversion efficiency of black BiOCl nanosheets (BBNs) is up to 40%. BBNs@PEG can effectively clear primary subcutaneous tumors and prevent recurrence, achieving good synergistic treatment effect. These results not only broke the limitation of ultraviolet on the BiOCl material and provided a good template for other semiconductor materials, also represent a promising approach to fabricate BBN@PEG a novel, potent and multi-functional theranostic platform for precise PTT and prognostic evaluation.

Cancer theranostic platforms based on injectable polymer hydrogels

Theranostic platforms that combine therapy with diagnosis not only prevent the undesirable biological responses that may occur when these processes are conducted separately, but also allow individualized therapies for patients. Polymer hydrogels have been employed to provide well-controlled drug release and targeted therapy in theranostics, where injectable hydrogels enable non-invasive treatment and monitoring with a single injection, offering greater patient comfort and efficient therapy. Efforts have been focused on applying injectable polymer hydrogels in theranostic research and clinical use. This review highlights recent progress in the design of injectable polymer hydrogels for cancer theranostics, particularly focusing on the elements/components of theranostic hydrogels, and their cross-linking strategies, structures, and performance with regard to drug delivery/tracking. Therapeutic agents and tracking modalities that are essential components of the theranostic platforms are introduced, and the design strategies, properties and applications of the injectable hydrogels developed via two approaches, namely chemical bonds and physical interactions, are described. The theranostic functions of the platforms are highly dependent on the architecture and components employed for the construction of hydrogels. Challenges currently presented by theranostic platforms based on injectable hydrogels are identified, and prospects of acquiring more comfortable and personalized therapies are proposed.

Advances and perspectives in near-infrared fluorescent organic probes for surgical oncology

Surgical resection of solid tumors is currently the most efficient and preferred therapeutic strategy for treating cancer. Despite significant medical, technical, and scientific advances, the complete treatment of this lethal disease is still a challenging task. New imaging techniques and contrast agents are urgently needed to improve cytoreductive surgery and patient outcomes. Tumor-targeted probes are valuable for guiding a surgical resection of tumor from subjective judgments to visual inspection. Near-infrared (NIR) fluorescent imaging is a promising technology in preclinical and clinical tumor diagnosis and therapy. The rapid development in NIR fluorophores with improved optical properties, targeting strategies, and imaging devices has brought about prospective study of novel NIR nanomaterials for intraoperative tumor detection. In this review, we summarize the recent development in NIR-emitting organic fluorophores and cancer-targeting strategies that specifically target and accumulate in tumors for the molecular imaging of cancerous cells. We believe this technique utilizing new fluorescent probes with an intraoperative optical imaging capacity could provide a more sensitive and accurate method for cancer resection guidance, thereby resulting in better surgical outcomes. This article is categorized under: Diagnostic Tools > in vivo Nanodiagnostics and Imaging Nanotechnology Approaches to Biology > Nanoscale Systems in Biology.

Synthesis of surface functionalized hollow microporous organic capsules for doxorubicin delivery to cancer cells

Functionalized hypercrosslinked hollow microporous capsules are demonstrated to have potential applications in targeted delivery of anticancer drugs.

The ABC Guide to Fluorescent Toolsets for the Development of Future Biomaterials

In recent decades, diversified approaches using nanoparticles or nano-structured scaffolds have been applied to drug delivery and tissue engineering. Thanks to recent interdisciplinary studies, the materials developed have been intensively evaluated at animal level. Despite these efforts, less attention has been paid to what is really going on at the subcellular level during the interaction between a nanomaterial and a cell. As the proposed concept becomes more complex, the need for investigation of the dynamics of these materials at the cellular level becomes more prominent. For a deeper understanding of cellular events, fluorescent imaging techniques have been a powerful means whereby spatiotemporal information related to cellular events can be visualized as detectable fluorescent signals. To date, several excellent review papers have summarized the use of fluorescent imaging toolsets in cellular biology. However, applying these toolsets becomes a laborious process for those who are not familiar with imaging studies to engage with owing to the skills gap between them and cell biologists. This review aims to highlight the valuable essentials of fluorescent imaging as a tool for the development of effective biomaterials by introducing some cases including photothermal and photodynamic therapies. This distilled information will be a convenient short-cut for those who are keen to fabricate next generation biomaterials.

One-pot synthesis of polypyrrole nanoparticles with tunable photothermal conversion and drug loading capacity

With an excellent near-infrared (NIR) light-responsive property, polypyrrole (PPy) nanoparticle has emerged as a promising NIR photothermal transducing agent for tumor photothermal therapy (PTT). Herein, we reported the PVP mediated one-pot synthesis of colloidal stable and biocompatible PPy nanoparticles (PPy-PVP NPs) for combined tumor photothermal-chemotherapy. The influence of molecular weight and PVP concentration on the spectroscopic characteristic, photothermal feature, drug loading performance, and antitumor efficiency of the resultant PPy-PVP NPs was systematically studied. By choosing PVP with a molecular weight of 360 kDa (concentration of 5 mg/mL) as the template and surface modifier during the synthesis, PPy-PVP NPs with optimal spectroscopic characteristic, photothermal feature, drug loading performance, and antitumor efficiency were synthesized. Findings in this study are anticipated to provide an in-depth understanding of the important character of surface engineering in the rational design and biomedical applications of PPy NPs.

Mesoporous silica-coated gold nanostars with drug payload for combined chemo-photothermal cancer therapy

Combined chemo-photothermal therapy is attracting increasing attention in the treatment of cancers. In this work, PEGylated mesoporous SiO₂-coated gold nanostars (GNS@mSiO₂-PEG) were synthesised without using the cytotoxic surfactant cetyltrimethylammonium bromide as the template. Mesoporous nanostructures were obtained by poly(vinylpyrrolidone) protection of the outer silica shell and NaOH etching of the inner shell. GNS@mSiO₂-PEG exhibited good dispersity in medium and excellent photothermal effects. Loading capacity for the anticancer drug doxorubicin (DOX) was ∼17.9%, and the drug release profile was pH- and light-responsive. In vitro studies revealed that the as-prepared nanocomposites featured good biocompatibility. Furthermore, the nanocomposites were readily internalised by cancer cells, and a combined chemo-photothermal therapy assay revealed that DOX-loaded GNS@mSiO₂-PEG have a higher therapeutic efficiency than individual therapies, demonstrating suitable synergistic effects.

Dual-Responsive Carbon Dot for pH/Redox-Triggered Fluorescence Imaging with Controllable Photothermal Ablation Therapy of Cancer

Herein we describe fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) for a pH/redox-activatable fluorescent carbon dot (FNP) to realize "off-on" switched imaging-guided controllable photothermal therapy (PTT). The FNP is a carbonized self-crosslinked polymer that allows IR825 loading (FNP[IR825]) via hydrophobic interactions for cancer therapy. Fluorescence bioimaging was achieved by the internalization of FNP(IR825) into tumor cells, wherein glutathione (GSH) disulfide bonds are reduced, and benzoic imine groups are cleaved under acidic conditions. The release of IR825 from the FNP core in this system may be used to efficiently control PTT-mediated cancer therapy via its photothermal conversion after near-infrared (NIR) irradiation. In vitro and in vivo cellular uptake studies revealed efficient uptake of FNP(IR825) by tumor cells to treat the disease site. In this way we demonstrated in mice that our smart nanocarrier can effectively kill tumor cells under exposure to a NIR laser, and that the particles are biocompatible with various organs. This platform responds sensitively to the exogenous environment inside the cancer cells and may selectively induce the release of PTT-mediated cytotoxicity. Furthermore, this platform may be useful for monitoring the elimination of cancer cells through the fluorescence on/off switch, which can be used for various applications in the field of cancer cell therapy and diagnosis.

Radiotherapy-Sensitized Tumor Photothermal Ablation Using γ-Polyglutamic Acid Nanogels Loaded with Polypyrrole

Development of versatile nanoscale platforms for cancer diagnosis and therapy is of great importance for applications in translational medicine. In this work, we present the use of γ-polyglutamic acid (γ-PGA) nanogels (NGs) to load polypyrrole (PPy) for thermal/photoacoustic (PA) imaging and radiotherapy (RT)-sensitized tumor photothermal therapy (PTT). First, a double emulsion approach was used to prepare the cystamine dihydrochloride (Cys)-cross-linked γ-PGA NGs. Next, the cross-linked NGs served as a reactor to be filled with pyrrole monomers that were subjected to in situ oxidation polymerization in the existence of Fe(III) ions. The formed uniform PPy-loaded NGs having an average diameter of 38.9 ± 8.6 nm exhibited good water-dispersibility and colloid stability. The prominent near-infrared (NIR) absorbance feature due to the loaded PPy endowed the NGs with contrast enhancement in PA imaging. The hybrid NGs possessed excellent photothermal conversion efficiency (64.7%) and stability against laser irradiation, and could be adopted for PA imaging and PTT of cancerous cells and tumor xenografts. Importantly, we also explored the cooperative PTT and X-ray radiation-mediated RT for enhanced tumor therapy. We show that PTT of tumors can be more significantly sensitized by RT using the sequence of laser irradiation followed by X-ray radiation as compared to using the reverse sequence. Our study suggests a promising theranostic platform of hybrid NGs that may be potentially utilized for PA imaging and combination therapy of different types of tumors.

Advances in thermosensitive polymer-grafted platforms for biomedical applications

Studies on "smart" polymeric material performing environmental stimuli such as temperature, pH, magnetic field, enzyme and photo-sensation have recently paid much attention to practical applications. Among of them, thermo-responsive grafted copolymers, amphiphilic steroids as well as polyester molecules have been utilized in the fabrication of several multifunctional platforms. Indeed, they performed a strikingly functional improvement comparing to some original materials and exhibited a holistic approach for biomedical applications. In case of drug delivery systems (DDS), there has been some successful proof of thermal-responsive grafted platforms on clinical trials such as ThermoDox®, BIND-014, Cynviloq IG-001, Genexol-PM, etc. This review would detail the recent progress and highlights of some temperature-responsive polymer-grafted nanomaterials or hydrogels in the 'smart' DDS that covered from synthetic polymers to nature-driven biomaterials and novel generations of some amphiphilic functional platforms. These approaches could produce several types of smart biomaterials for human health care in future.

pH-Responsible fluorescent carbon nanoparticles for tumor selective theranostics via pH-turn on/off fluorescence and photothermal effect in vivo and in vitro

We developed nanoparticles comprising a photothermal dye (IR825)-loaded carbonized zwitterionic polymer [FNP-I] as "switch-on" pH-responsive fluorescence probes to sense intracellular cancer cells and for near-infrared (NIR) controllable photothermal therapy (PTT) in vivo and in vitro. The fluorescent "off" of FNP-I was activated after reaching the cancer cell environment, where the zwitterionic compartment of FNP lost its hydrophobicity to induce PTT-mediated heat release of IR825 under NIR irradiation in the tumor. Approximately 100% of the IR825 was released from the FNP core to generate high thermal conversion to completely kill the cancer cells. Furthermore, after intravenous treatment of FNP-I into MDAMB-231-cell bearing mice, pH-responsive photothermal therapy was observed, achieving marked ablation of tumor cells with release of IR825 under tumor environment conditions. In addition, fluorescent signals were clearly found at the tumor site after 3 h, decreasing at the 6 h time point. The in vitro and in vivo detection system demonstrated good cellular uptake and biocompatibility as a potential imaging-guided photothermal therapy nanotool for cancer treatment. Interestingly, the synergism of the biosensor and PTT in single FNP-I platform led to more effective cancer cell killing than either monotherapy, providing a new approach for cancer treatment.

Vibrating droplet generation to assemble zwitterion-coated gold-graphene oxide stealth nanovesicles for effective pancreatic cancer chemo-phototherapy

A vibrating nozzle approach was used to produce uniform (∼2 μm) hybrid droplets containing gold-graphene oxide (Au-GO), doxorubicin (DOX), and zwitterionic chitosan (ZC) for assembly of Au-GO@ZC-DOX stealth nanovesicles (NVs) via a single-pass diffusion drying process without any hydrothermal reactions, separations, or purifications. NVs were prepared with a lateral dimension of ∼53.0 nm, a pH-triggered high DOX release profile, and strong photothermal effects. Macrophage opsonization was prevented, resulting in anti-cancer and anti-migration effects, with high intracellular uptake in PANC-1 and MIA PaCa-2 cells. PANC-1 tumor uptake was greater for NVs having the ZC configuration than that for NVs without the ZC configuration, resulting in better anti-tumor effects with minimal toxicities. The vibrating nozzle approach offers significant potential to assemble multi-componential NVs for more efficient anti-tumor treatment and easy user-defined manufacturing of multifunctional nanomedicines.

Facile preparation of ion-doped poly(p-phenylenediamine) nanoparticles for photothermal therapy

Ion-doped poly(p-phenylenediamine) nanoparticles were synthesized and used as a photothermal agent for photothermal therapy for the first time.

Polyaniline-loaded γ-polyglutamic acid nanogels as a platform for photoacoustic imaging-guided tumor photothermal therapy

We report the facile synthesis of polyaniline (PANI)-loaded γ-polyglutamic acid (γ-PGA) nanogels (NGs) for photoacoustic (PA) imaging-guided photothermal therapy (PTT) of tumors. In this work, γ-PGA NGs were first formed via a double emulsion approach, followed by crosslinking with cystamine dihydrochloride (Cys) via 1-ethyl-3-[3-dimethylaminopropyl]carbodiimide hydrochloride coupling chemistry. The formed γ-PGA/Cys NGs were employed as a nanoreactor to load aniline monomers via an electrostatic interaction for subsequent in situ polymerization in the presence of ammonium persulfate. The resulting γ-PGA/Cys@PANI NGs were thoroughly characterized. It is shown that the γ-PGA/Cys@PANI NGs with an average size of 71.9 nm are dispersible in water, colloidally stable, and cytocompatible and hemocompatible in the concentration range studied. The strong near-infrared (NIR) absorbance renders the NGs with good PA imaging contrast enhancement and photothermal conversion properties. With these excellent properties and biocompatibility, the developed γ-PGA/Cys@PANI NGs are able to be used for PA imaging-guided PTT of cancer cells in vitro and a xenografted tumor model in vivo. This unique theranostic nanoplatform may be further loaded with other imaging or therapeutic elements, or modified with targeting ligands, thereby providing a ubiquitous platform for multimode imaging and combinational therapy of different biosystems.

Cyanine based Nanoprobes for Cancer Theranostics

Cyanine dyes are greatly accredited in the development of non-invasive therapy that can "see" and "treat" tumor cells via imaging, photothermal and photodynamic treatment. However, these dyes suffer from poor pharmacokinetics inducing severe toxicity to normal cells, insufficient accumulation in tumor regions and rapid photobleaching when delivered in free forms. Nanoparticles engineered to encapsulate these compounds and delivering them into tumor regions have increased rapidly, however, so far, these nanoparticles (NPs) have not proved to be so effective to circumvent existing challenges. Newly designed multifunctional smart nanocarriers that can improve phototherapeutic properties of these dyes, co-encapsulate multiple potent therapeutic compounds, and simultaneously overcome limitations related to tumor recurrence, metastases, limited intracellular uptake, and tumor hypoxia have potential to revolutionize modern paradigm of cancer therapy. Such cyanine based multifunctional nanocarriers integrating imaging and therapy in a single platform can effectively produce better clinical outcomes in cancer treatment. This review briefly summarizes recent advancements of cyanine nanoprobes that are currently used as imaging/phototherapeutic agents in unimodal/bimodal/trimodal cancer theranostics. Finally, we conclude this review by addressing challenges of pre-existing therapeutic systems and designs adopted to overcome them with a brief insight assimilating future perspective of emerging cyanine-based NPs in cancer theranostics.

Redox and pH Dual Responsive Polymer Based Nanoparticles for In Vivo Drug Delivery

Responsive nanomaterials have emerged as promising candidates as drug delivery vehicles in order to address biomedical diseases such as cancer. In this work, polymer-based responsive nanoparticles prepared by a supramolecular approach are loaded with doxorubicin (DOX) for the cancer therapy. The nanoparticles contain disulfide bonds within the polymer network, allowing the release of the DOX payload in a reducing environment within the endoplasm of cancer cells. In addition, the loaded drug can also be released under acidic environment. In vitro anticancer studies using redox and pH dual responsive nanoparticles show excellent performance in inducing cell death and apoptosis. Zebrafish larvae treated with DOX-loaded nanoparticles exhibit an improved viability as compared with the cases treated with free DOX by the end of a 3 d treatment. Confocal imaging is utilized to provide the daily assessment of tumor size on zebrafish larva models treated with DOX-loaded nanoparticles, presenting sustainable reduction of tumor. This work demonstrates the development of functional nanoparticles with dual responsive properties for both in vitro and in vivo drug delivery in the cancer therapy.

Chemo-photothermal therapy of cancer cells using gold nanorod-cored stimuli-responsive triblock copolymer

The combination of photothermal therapy and chemotherapy, when carefully planned, has been shown to be an effective cancer treatment option clinically and preclinically.

Two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenide nanomaterials for combination cancer therapy

In this review, we mainly summarize the latest advances in the utilization of 2D TMDCs for PTT combination cancer therapy and imaging-guided cancer combination therapy, as well as their toxicity bothin vitroandin vivo.

NIR-absorbing dye functionalized hollow mesoporous silica nanoparticles for combined photothermal–chemotherapy

Multifunctional nanocarriers consisting of hollow mesoporous silica nanoparticles loaded with doxorubicin and then capped by a complex between disulfide linked β-cyclodextrin and adamantane functionalized indocyanine dye are developed for improved anticancer efficacy through combined photothermal–chemotherapy.

Thermohydrogel Containing Melanin for Photothermal Cancer Therapy

Melanin is an effective absorber of light and can extend to near infrared (NIR) regions. In this study, a natural melanin is presented as a photothermal therapeutic agent (PTA) because it provides a good photothermal conversion efficiency, shows biodegradability, and does not induce long-term toxicity during retention in vivo. Poloxamer solution containing melanin (Pol-Mel) does not show any precipitation and shows sol-gel transition at body temperature. After irradiation from 808 nm NIR laser at 1.5 W cm^-2 for 3 min, the photothermal conversion efficiency of Pol-Mel is enough to kill cancer cells in vitro and in vivo. The tumor growth of mice bearing CT26 tumors treated with Pol-Mel injection and laser irradiation is suppressed completely without recurrence postirradiation. All these results indicate that Pol-Mel can become an attractive PTA for photothermal cancer therapy.

Multifunctional Cu2-xTe Nanocubes Mediated Combination Therapy for Multi-Drug Resistant MDA MB 453

Hypermethylated cancer populations are hard to treat due to their enhanced chemo-resistance, characterized by aberrant methylated DNA subunits. Herein, we report on invoking response from such a cancer lineage to chemotherapy utilizing multifunctional copper telluride (Cu2-XTe) nanocubes (NCs) as photothermal and photodynamic agents, leading to significant anticancer activity. The NCs additionally possessed photoacoustic and X-ray contrast imaging abilities that could serve in image-guided therapeutic studies.

Porphysome nanoparticles for enhanced photothermal therapy in a patient-derived orthotopic pancreas xenograft cancer model: a pilot study

Local disease control is a major challenge in pancreatic cancer treatment, because surgical resection of the primary tumor is only possible in a minority of patients and radiotherapy cannot be delivered in curative doses. Despite the promise of photothermal therapy (PTT) for focal ablation of pancreatic tumors, this approach remains underinvestigated. Using photothermal sensitizers in combination with laser light irradiation for PTT can result in more efficient conversion of light energy to heat and improved spatial confinement of thermal destruction to the tumor. Porphysomes are self-assembled nanoparticles composed mainly of pyropheophorbide-conjugated phospholipids, enabling the packing of ∼80,000 porphyrin photosensitizers per particle. The high-density porphyrin loading imparts enhanced photonic properties and enables high-payload tumor delivery. A patient-derived orthotopic pancreas xenograft model was used to evaluate the feasibility of porphysome-enhanced PTT for pancreatic cancer. Biodistribution and tumor accumulation were evaluated using fluorescence intensity measurements from homogenized tissues and imaging of excised organs. Tumor surface temperature was recorded using IR optical imaging during light irradiation to monitor treatment progress. Histological analyses were conducted to determine the extent of PTT thermal damage. These studies may provide insight into the influence of heat-sink effect on thermal therapy dosimetry for well-perfused pancreatic tumors.