Magnetic graphene oxide functionalized alginate-g-poly(2-hydroxypropylmethacrylamide) nanoplatform for near-infrared light/pH/magnetic field-sensitive drug release and chemo/phototherapy

Multifunctional nanoplatforms developed from natural polymers and graphene oxide (GO) with enhanced biological/physicochemical features have recently attracted attention in the biomedical field. Herein, a new multifunctional near-infrared (NIR) light-, pH- and magnetic field-sensitive hybrid nanoplatform (mGO@AL-g-PHPM@ICG/EP) is developed by combining iron oxide decorated graphene oxide nanosheets (mGO) and poly(2-hydroxypropylmethacrylamide) grafted alginate (AL-g-PHPM) copolymer loaded with indocyanine green (ICG) and etoposide (EP) for chemo/phototherapy. The functional groups, specific crystal structure, size, morphology, and thermal stability of the nanoplatform were fully characterized by XRD, UV, FTIR, AFM/TEM/FE-SEM, VSM, DSC/TG, and BET analyses. In this platform, the mGO and ICG, as phototherapeutic agents, demonstrate excellent thermal effects and singlet oxygen production under NIR-light (808 nm) irradiation. The XRD and DSC analysis confirmed the amorphous state of the ICG/EP in the nanoparticles. In vitro photothermal tests proved that the mGO@AL-g-PHPM@ICG/EP nanoparticles had outstanding light stability and photothermal conversion ability. The in vitro release profiles presented NIR light-, pH- and magnetic field-controlled EP/ICG release behaviors. In vitro experiments demonstrated the excellent antitumor activity of the mGO@AL-g-PHPM@ICG/EP against H1299 tumor cells under NIR laser. Benefiting from its low-cost, facile preparation, and good dual-modal therapy, the mGO@AL-g-PHPM@ICG/EP nanoplatform holds great promise in multi-stimuli-sensitive drug delivery and chemo/phototherapy.

Chitosan- and hyaluronic acid-based nanoarchitectures in phototherapy: Combination cancer chemotherapy, immunotherapy and gene therapy

Cancer phototherapy has been introduced as a new potential modality for tumor suppression. However, the efficacy of phototherapy has been limited due to a lack of targeted delivery of photosensitizers. Therefore, the application of biocompatible and multifunctional nanoparticles in phototherapy is appreciated. Chitosan (CS) as a cationic polymer and hyaluronic acid (HA) as a CD44-targeting agent are two widely utilized polymers in nanoparticle synthesis and functionalization. The current review focuses on the application of HA and CS nanostructures in cancer phototherapy. These nanocarriers can be used in phototherapy to induce hyperthermia and singlet oxygen generation for tumor ablation. CS and HA can be used for the synthesis of nanostructures, or they can functionalize other kinds of nanostructures used for phototherapy, such as gold nanorods. The HA and CS nanostructures can combine chemotherapy or immunotherapy with phototherapy to augment tumor suppression. Moreover, the CS nanostructures can be functionalized with HA for specific cancer phototherapy. The CS and HA nanostructures promote the cellular uptake of genes and photosensitizers to facilitate gene therapy and phototherapy. Such nanostructures specifically stimulate phototherapy at the tumor site, with particle toxic impacts on normal cells. Moreover, CS and HA nanostructures demonstrate high biocompatibility for further clinical applications.

A combined experimental and DFT study of metal core/indocyanine green shell hybrid nanoparticles

Indocyanine green (ICG) is the FDA-approved fluorescent dye used for in vivo medical imaging, diagnostics, and photothermal therapy. However, this dye is easily degradable in the human vascular system, and therefore its stabilization is preferable. In this work, ICG molecules were stabilized by their adsorption on the surface of the L-methionine-capped Ag and Au nanoparticles (Ag and Au @LM NPs) in aqueous colloidal dispersions. The result is the formation of hybrid metal core/ICG shell NPs in colloidal dispersions. Additionally, colloidal dispersions were stabilized, indicating a double effect of ICG adsorption. The obtained hybrid NPs were studied experimentally (UV-Vis spectrophotometry, HRTEM, DLS, FTIR) and theoretically (DFT calculations). HRTEM revealed that the interplanar spacing between adjacent planes of NPs decreases after the dye adsorption. The results obtained from the DFT study confirmed the formation of a covalent bond between the oxygen from ICG dye SO3- group and metal NPs. Considering the characteristics of both components of the NPs/ICG hybrid system, the authors assume that this hybrid system can exhibit the synergistic effect that could lead to more successful theranostic treatment of cancer in nanomedicine.

Research progress of organic photothermal agents delivery and synergistic therapy systems

Cancer is currently one of the leading causes of mortality worldwide. Due to the inevitable shortcomings of conventional treatments, photothermal therapy (PTT) has attracted great attention as an emerging and non-invasive cancer treatment method. Photothermal agents (PTAs) is a necessary component of PTT to play its role. It accumulates at the tumor site through appropriate methods and converts the absorbed light energy into heat energy effectively under near-infrared light irradiation, thus increasing the temperature of the tumor area and facilitating ablation of the tumor cells. Compared to inorganic photothermal agents, which have limitations such as non-degradability and potential long-term toxicity in vivo, organic photothermal agents exhibit excellent biocompatibility and biodegradability, thus showing promising prospects for the application of PTT in cancer treatment. And these organic photothermal agents can also be engineered into nanoparticles to improve their water solubility, extend their circulation time in vivo, and specifically target tumors. Moreover, further combination of PTT with other treatment methods can effectively enhance the efficacy of cancer treatment and alleviate the side effects associated with single treatments. This article briefly introduces several common types of organic photothermal agents and their nanoparticles, and reviews the applications of PTT based on organic photothermal agents in combination with chemotherapy, photodynamic therapy, chemodynamic therapy, immunotherapy, and multimodal combination therapy for tumor treatment, which expands the ideas and methods in the field of tumor treatment.

Microbial polysaccharides: An emerging family of natural biomaterials for cancer therapy and diagnostics

Microbial polysaccharides (MPs) offer immense diversity in structural and functional properties. They are extensively used in advance biomedical science owing to their superior biodegradability, hemocompatibility, and capability to imitate the natural extracellular matrix microenvironment. Ease in tailoring, inherent bio-activity, distinct mucoadhesiveness, ability to absorb hydrophobic drugs, and plentiful availability of MPs make them prolific green biomaterials to overcome the significant constraints of cancer chemotherapeutics. Many studies have demonstrated their application to obstruct tumor development and extend survival through immune activation, apoptosis induction, and cell cycle arrest by MPs. Synoptic investigations of MPs are compulsory to decode applied basics in recent inclinations towards cancer regimens. The current review focuses on the anticancer properties of commercially available and newly explored MPs, and outlines their direct and indirect mode of action. The review also highlights cutting-edge MPs-based drug delivery systems to augment the specificity and efficiency of available chemotherapeutics, as well as their emerging role in theranostics.

Antioxidant, Enzyme, and H2O2-Triggered Melanoma Targeted Mesoporous Organo-Silica Nanocomposites for Synergistic Cancer Therapy

The multi-stimuli responsive drug delivery system has recently attracted attention in cancer treatments, since it can reduce several side effects and enhance cancer therapeutic efficacy. Herein, we present the intracellular antioxidant (glutathione, GSH), enzyme (hyaluronidase, HAase), and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) triggered mesoporous organo-silica (MOS) nanocomposites for multi-modal treatments via chemo-, photothermal, and photodynamic cancer therapies. A MOS nanoparticle was synthesized by two-types of precursors, tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) and bis[3-(triethoxysilyl)propyl] tetrasulfide (BTES), providing large-sized mesopores and disulfide bonds cleavable by GSH. Additionally, we introduced a new β-cyclodextrin-hyaluronic acid (CDHA) gatekeeper system, enabling nanocomposites to form the specific interaction with the ferrocene (Fc) molecule, control the drug release by the HAase and H2O2 environment, as well as provide the targeting ability against the CD44-overexpressing melanoma (B16F10) cells. Indocyanine green (ICG) and doxorubicin (Dox) were loaded in the MOS-Fc-CDHA (ID@MOS-Fc-CDHA) nanocomposites, allowing for hyperthermia and cytotoxic reactive oxygen species (ROS) under an 808 nm NIR laser irradiation. Therefore, we demonstrated that the ID@MOS-Fc-CDHA nanocomposites were internalized to the B16F10 cells via the CD44 receptor-mediated endocytosis, showing the controlled drug release by GSH, HAase, and H2O2 to enhance the cancer therapeutic efficacy via the synergistic chemo-, photothermal, and photodynamic therapy effect.

A multifunctional theranostics nanosystem featuring self-assembly of alcohol-abuse drug and photosensitizers for synergistic cancer therapy

Conventional treatments for cancer, such as chemotherapy, surgical resection, and radiotherapy, have shown limited therapeutic efficacy, with severe side effects, lack of targeting and drug resistance for monotherapies, which limit their clinical application. Therefore, combinatorial strategies have been widely investigated in the battle against cancer. Herein, we fabricated a dual-targeted nanoscale drug delivery system based on EpCAM aptamer- and lactic acid-modified low-polyamidoamine dendrimers to co-deliver the FDA-approved agent disulfiram and photosensitizer indocyanine green, combining the imaging and therapeutic functions in a single platform. The multifunctional nanoparticles with uniform size had high drug-loading payload, sustained release, as well as excellent photothermal conversion. The integrated nanoplatform showed a superior synergistic effect in vitro and possessed precise spatial delivery to HepG2 cells with the dual-targeting nanocarrier. Intriguingly, a robust anticancer response of chemo-phototherapy was achieved; chemotherapy combined with the efficacy of phototherapy to cause cellular apoptosis of HepG2 cells (>35%) and inhibit the regrowth of damaged cells. Furthermore, the theranostic nanosystem displayed fluorescence imaging in vivo, attributed to its splendid accumulation in the tumor site, and it provided exceptional tumor inhibition rate against liver cancer cells (>76%). Overall, our research presents a promising multifunctional theranostic nanoplatform for the development of synergistic therapeutics for tumors in further applications.

Gold nanorod@void@polypyrrole yolk@shell nanostructures: Synchronous regulation of photothermal and drug delivery performance for synergistic cancer therapy

Synergistic therapy has been emerging as new trend for effective tumor treatment due to synchronous function and cooperative reinforcement of multi therapeutic modalities. Herein, gold nanorods (GNRs) encapsulated into polypyrrole (PPy) shell with tunable void space (GNRs@Void@PPy) showing yolk@shell nanostructures were innovatively designed. The exploitation of dual near-infrared (NIR) absorptive species offered synergistic enhancement of photothermal performance. In addition, the manipulation of the void space between them provided additional benefits of high drug encapsulation efficiency (92.6%) and, interestingly, tumor microenvironment and NIR irradiation triggered targeted drug releasing. Moreover, the GNRs@Void@PPy exhibited excellent biocompatibility, and optimal curative effect by chemo-photothermal synergistic therapy was achieved through both in vitro and in vivo antitumor activity investigation.

Fluorescence imaging-guided cancer photothermal therapy using polydopamine and graphene quantum dot-capped Prussian blue nanocubes

In recent years, imaging-guided photothermal tumor ablation has attracted intense research interest as one of the most exciting strategies for cancer treatment. Herein, we prepared polydopamine and graphene quantum dot-capped Prussian blue nanocubes (PB@PDA@GQDs, PBPGs) with high photothermal conversion efficiency and excellent fluorescence performance for imaging-guided cancer treatment. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), UV-vis absorption spectroscopy (UV-vis), fluorescence spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) were employed to characterize their morphology and structures. The photothermal conversion efficiency and therapeutic effect were evaluated in vitro and in vivo. Results revealed that this nanoagent had excellent biocompatibility and enhanced the photothermal effect compared to blue nanocubes (PBs) and polydopamine-capped Prussian blue nanocubes (PB@PDA, PBPs). Therefore, our study may open a new path for the production of PB-based nanocomposites as theranostic nanoagents for imaging-guided photothermal cancer treatment.

Targeted Antitumor Mechanism of C-PC/CMC-CD55sp Nanospheres in HeLa Cervical Cancer Cells

In vitro studies had shown that C-Phycocyanin (C-PC) inhibited cervical cancer HeLa cells growth. We constructed C-PC/CMC-CD55sp nanospheres using C-PC, Carboxymethyl Chitosan (CMC), and CD55 ligand peptide (CD55sp) to allow for targeted antitumor effects against HeLa cells in vitro and in vivo. The characteristics of the nanospheres were determined using FTIR, electron microscopy, and laser particle size analysis. Flow cytometry, laser confocal microscopy and small animal imaging system showed the targeting of C-PC/CMC-CD55sp nanospheres on HeLa cells. Subsequently, the proliferation and apoptosis were analyzed by Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8), flow cytometry, TUNEL assay and electron microscopy. The expression of the apoptosis-related protein was determined using western blot. The stainings of Hematoxylin and Eosin (HE) were employed to evaluate the cell condition of tumor tissue sections. The cytokines in the blood in tumor-bearing nude mice was determined using ELISA. These results showed that C-PC/CMC-CD55sp nanospheres were successfully constructed and targeted HeLa cells. The constructed nanospheres were more effective than C-PC alone in inhibiting the proliferation and inducing apoptosis in HeLa cells. We also found that C-PC/CMC-CD55sp nanospheres had a significant inhibitory effect on the expression of antiapoptotic protein Bcl-2 and a promotion on the transformation of caspase 3 to cleaved caspase 3. C-PC/CMC-CD55sp nanospheres played an important role in tumor suppression, reduced the expression TGF-β, and increased IL-6 and TNF-α. This study demonstrates that the constructed new C-PC/CMC-CD55sp nanospheres exerted targeted antitumor effects in vivo and in vitro which provided a novel idea for application of C-PC, and provided experimental basis for comprehensive targeted treatment of tumors.

Efficient photoacoustic imaging using indocyanine green (ICG) loaded functionalized mesoporous silica nanoparticles

Photoacoustic (PA) imaging is gaining momentum due to its greater depth of field, low background, and 3D imaging capabilities. However, traditional PA imaging agents (e.g. dyes, quantum dots, etc.) are usually unstable in plasma and bind to serum proteins, and thus cleared rapidly. Because of this, the nanoparticle encapsulation of PA imaging agents is becoming increasingly popular. Therefore, the rational design of carrier nanoparticles for this purpose is necessary for strong imaging signal intensity, high biosafety, and precise targeting. Herein, we systematically evaluate the influence of the chemical and physical surface functionalization of mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) on the photo-stability, loading, release, and photoacoustic (PA) signal strength of the FDA approved small molecule contrast agent, indocyanine green (ICG). Chemical functionalization involved the modification of MSNs with silanes having amine (NH2) or phosphonate (PO3) terminal groups, whereas physical modifications were performed by capping the ICG loaded MSNs with lipid bilayer (LB) or layer-by-layer (LBL) polyelectrolyte coatings. The NH2-MSNs display the highest ICG mass loading capacity (16.5 wt%) with a limited release of ICG (5%) in PBS over 48 h, while PO3-MSNs only loaded ICG around 3.5 wt%. The physically modified MSNs (i.e. LBMSNs and LBLMSNs) were vacuum loaded resulting in approximately 9 wt% loading and less than 10% ICG release in 48 h. Pure ICG was highly photo-unstable and showed 20% reduction in photoluminescence (PL) within 3 h of exposure to 800 nm, while the ICG loaded onto functionalized MSNs did not photo-degrade. Among the tested formulations, NH2-MSNs and LBLMSNs presented 4-fold in vitro PA signal intensity enhancement at a 200 μg mL-1 equivalent ICG dose. Similar to the in vitro PA imaging, NH2-MSNs and LBLMSNs performed the best when subcutaneously injected into mouse cadavers with 1.29- and 1.43-fold PA signal enhancement in comparison to the pure ICG, respectively.

Flower-like Fe7S8/Bi2S3 superstructures with improved near-infrared absorption for efficient chemo-photothermal therapy

Although various photothermal therapy (PTT) nanoagents have been developed in recent years, the rational design and easy synthesis of a PTT nanoplatform with improved near-infrared (NIR) absorption have remained challenging. Herein, via a facile one-pot solvothermal strategy, hydrophilic nanosheet-assembled flower-like Fe7S8/Bi2S3 superstructures were fabricated successfully. Such nanoflowers exhibit improved NIR absorption, which is 1.54 times higher than that of pure Bi2S3 nanosheets at a wavelength of 808 nm. Attractively, these nanoflowers could serve as a drug delivery carrier with controlled release under pH/NIR stimuli and display a fascinating chemo-photothermal synergetic therapeutic effect both in vitro and vivo. The resulting nanoflowers may open up a way for the design of other nanoagents with an improved NIR absorption and chemo-photothermal cancer therapy effect.

Zwitterionic carbon dot-encapsulating pH-responsive mesoporous silica nanoparticles for NIR light-triggered photothermal therapy through pH-controllable release

Here, we designed a pH-responsive Indocyanine Green (ICG)-loaded zwitterionic fluorescent carbon dot (CD)-encapsulating mesoporous silica nanoparticle (MSN) for pH-tunable image-guided photothermal therapy.

Multistage delivery of CDs-DOX/ICG-loaded liposome for highly penetration and effective chemo-photothermal combination therapy

Nanoparticles (NPs) have proven to be effective drug carriers in diagnosis and therapy of cancer. But, they faced a contradictory issue that NPs with large size appear weak tumor penetration, meanwhile small size resulted in poor tumor retention. Herein, we fabricated doxorubicin conjugated carbon dots (CDs-DOX) and indocyanine green (ICG)-loaded liposomes (ICG-LPs) named CDs-ICG-LPs using a modified reverse phase evaporation process, and with high incorporation in the aqueous core. The CDs-ICG-LPs exhibited good monodispersity, excellent fluorescence/size stability, and consistent spectra characteristics compared with free ICG or DOX. Moreover, the CDs-ICG-LPs showed higher temperature response, faster DOX release under laser irradiation. In the meantime, the fluorescence of DOX and ICG in CDs-ICG-LPs was also visualized for the process of subcellular location in vitro. In comparison with chemo or photothermal treatment alone, the combined treatment of CDs-ICG-LPs with laser irradiation synergistically induced the apoptosis and death of DOX-sensitive HepG2 cells. In vivo antitumor activities demonstrated CDs-ICG-LPs could reach higher antitumor activity compared with CDs-DOX and ICG-LPs for H22 tumor cells, and suppressed H22 tumor growth in vivo. Notably, no systemic toxicity occurrence was observed after repeated dose of CDs-ICG-LPs with laser irradiation. Hence, the well-defined CDs-ICG-LPs exhibited great potential in targeting cancer imaging and chemo-photothermal therapy.

Glioma-Targeted Delivery of a Theranostic Liposome Integrated with Quantum Dots, Superparamagnetic Iron Oxide, and Cilengitide for Dual-Imaging Guiding Cancer Surgery

Herein, a theranostic liposome (QSC-Lip) integrated with superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs) and quantum dots (QDs) and cilengitide (CGT) into one platform is constructed to target glioma under magnetic targeting (MT) for guiding surgical resection of glioma. Transmission electron microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy confirm the complete coencapsulation of SPIONs and QDs in liposome. Besides, CGT is also effectively encapsulated into the liposome with an encapsulation efficiency of ∼88.9%. QSC-Lip exhibits a diameter of 100 ± 1.24 nm, zeta potential of -17.10 ± 0.11 mV, and good stability in several mediums. Moreover, each cargo shows a biphasic release pattern from QSC-Lip, a rapid initial release within initial 10 h followed by a sustained release. Cellular uptake of QSC-Lip is significantly enhanced by C₆ cells under MT. In vivo dual-imaging studies show that QSC-Lip not only produces an obvious negative-contrast enhancement effect on glioma by magnetic resonance imaging but also makes tumor emitting fluorescence under MT. The dual-imaging of QSC-Lip guides the accurate resection of glioma by surgery. Besides, CGT is also specifically distributed to glioma after administration of QSC-Lip under MT, resulting in an effective inhibition of tumors. The integrated liposome may be a potential carrier for theranostics of tumor.

Synthesis of nanomedicines by nanohybrids conjugating ginsenosides with auto-targeting and enhanced MRI contrast for liver cancer therapy

A new methodology has been developed with conjugating nanoparticles (NPs) with an active ingredient of Chinese herbs for nanomedicines with auto-targeting and enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for liver cancer therapy. Fe@Fe₃O₄ NPs are first synthesized via the programed microfluidic process, whose surfaces are first modified with -NH₂ groups using a silane coupling technique that uses (3-aminopropyl)trimethoxysilane (APTMS) as the coupling reagent and are subsequently activated by the bifunctional amine-active cross-linker [e.g. disuccinimidyl suberate (DSS)]. The model medicines of ginsenosides pre-activated by APTMS are further cross-linked with activated NPs, forming the desired nanomedicines (Nano-Fe-GSS). Sizes and structures of Fe@Fe₃O₄ NPs were characterized by transmission electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction, revealing that their core-shell structures consist of amorphous boron doped Fe cores and partial crystalline Fe₃O₄ shells. The accomplishment of coupling reactions in the final nanomedicines is confirmed by the characterization of the composition of NPs and Nano-Fe-GSS via X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy. The nanoparticles' effects as MRI contrast agents are further investigated by comparing the T₂ weighted spin echo imaging (T2WI) in livers before and after intravenous injection and intragastric administration of nanomedicines. The results indicate that these nanomedicines possess enhanced MRI effects. Investigation of the toxicity and metabolism of Nano-Fe-GSS suggests that they are safe to related vital organs. The results provide an efficient alternative route to synthesize desired multi-functional nanomedicines based on NPs and the active ingredients of Chinese herbs, which can promote their potential synergistic effects in anti-tumor therapy.

Polymer-Based Nanocarriers for Co-Delivery and Combination of Diverse Therapies against Cancers

Cancer gives rise to an enormous number of deaths worldwide nowadays. Therefore, it is in urgent need to develop new therapies, among which combined therapies including photothermal therapy (PTT) and chemotherapy (CHT) using polymer-based nanocarriers have attracted enormous interest due to the significantly enhanced efficacy and great progress has been made so far. The preparation of such nanocarriers is a comprehensive task involving the cooperation of nanomaterial science and biomedicine science. In this review, we try to introduce and analyze the structure, preparation and synergistic therapeutic effect of various polymer-based nanocarriers composed of anti-tumor drugs, nano-sized photothermal materials and other possible parts. Our effort may bring benefit to future exploration and potential applications of similar nanocarriers.

One-step assembly of CuMo2S3 nanocrystals for the synergistic effect of photothermal therapy and photodynamic therapy

A novel PVP conjugated CuMo₂S₃ nanocrystal was synthesized by a one-step approach and showed an excellent synergistic effect of photothermal therapy and photodynamic therapy for tumor treatment.

Multifunctional PS@CS@Au–Fe3O4–FA nanocomposites for CT, MR and fluorescence imaging guided targeted-photothermal therapy of cancer cells

Multifunctional theranostic PS@CS@Au–Fe₃O₄–FA/ICG nanocomposites for MR, CT and fluorescence multiple-modal imaging-guided targeted photothermal therapy were fabricated, and they might be a promising theranostic nanoplatform for tumor diagnostics and treatment.