Construction of a near-infrared responsive upconversion nanoplatform against hypoxic tumors via NO-enhanced photodynamic therapy

Bioinspired Nano-Photosensitizer-Activated Caspase-3/GSDME Pathway Induces Pyroptosis in Lung Cancer Cells

Noninflammatory apoptosis is transformed into inflammatory pyroptosis by activating caspase-3 to lyse gasdermin E (GSDME), and this process can be used as an effective therapeutic strategy. Thus, a selective and powerful inducer of activated caspase-3 plays a vital role in pyroptosis-based cancer therapy. Herein, a human cell membrane vesicle-based nanoplatform (HCNP) is designed for photodynamic therapy (PDT). HCNP is modified with vesicular stomatitis virus G-protein (VSVG) to anchor nano-photosensitizers on the tumor cell membrane. Photosensitizers are bonded to HCNP by clicking chemical reaction as pyroptosis inducers. The results show that HCNP effectively disrupts the mitochondrial function of cells by generating reactive oxygen species (ROS) upon laser irradiation; concomitantly, GSDME is cleaved by activated caspase-3 and promotes pyroptosis of lung cancer cells. Here an effective intervention strategy is proposed to induce pyroptosis based on light-activated PDT.

Synergistic effects of photodynamic therapy and chemotherapy: Activating the intrinsic/extrinsic apoptotic pathway of anoikis for triple-negative breast cancer treatment

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is a highly invasive and metastatic subtype of breast cancer that often recurs after surgery. Herein, we developed a cyclodextrin-based tumor-targeted nano delivery system that incorporated the photosensitizer chlorin e6 (Ce6) and the chemotherapeutic agent lonidamine (LND) to form the R6RGD-CMβCD-se-se-Ce6/LND nanoparticles (RCC/LND NPS). This nanosystem could target cancer cells, avoid lysosomal degradation and further localize within the mitochondria. The RCC/LND NPS had pH and redox-responsive to control the release of Ce6 and LND. Consequently, the nanosystem had a synergistic effect by effectively alleviating hypoxia, enhancing the production of cytotoxic reactive oxygen species (ROS) and amplifying the efficacy of photodynamic therapy (PDT). Furthermore, the RCC/LND NPS + light weakened anoikis resistance, disrupted extracellular matrix (ECM), activated both the intrinsic apoptotic pathway (mitochondrial pathway) and extrinsic apoptotic pathway (receptor death pathway) of anoikis. In addition, the nanosystem showed significant anti-TNBC efficacy in vivo. These findings collectively demonstrated that RCC/LND NPS + light enhanced the anticancer effects, induced anoikis and inhibited tumor cell migration and invasion through a synergistic effect of chemotherapy and PDT. Overall, this study highlighted the promising potential of the RCC/LND NPS + light for the treatment of TNBC.

Current trends in gas-synergized phototherapy for improved antitumor theranostics

Phototherapy, such as photothermal therapy (PTT) and photodynamic therapy (PDT), has been considered an elegant solution to eradicate tumors due to its minimal invasiveness and low systemic toxicity. Nevertheless, it is still challenging for phototherapy to achieve ideal outcomes and clinical translation due to its inherent drawbacks. Owing to the unique biological functions, diverse gases have attracted growing attention in combining with phototherapy to achieve super-additive therapeutic effects. Specifically, gases such as nitric oxide (NO), carbon monoxide (CO), and hydrogen sulfide (H2S) have been proven to kill tumor cells by inducing mitochondrial damage in synergy with phototherapy. Additionally, several gases not only enhance the thermal damage in PTT and the reactive oxygen species (ROS) production in PDT but also improve the tumor accumulation of photoactive agents. The inflammatory responses triggered by hyperthermia in PTT are also suppressed by the combination of gases. Herein, we comprehensively review the latest studies on gas-synergized phototherapy for cancer therapy, including (1) synergistic mechanisms of combining gases with phototherapy; (2) design of nanoplatforms for gas-synergized phototherapy; (3) multimodal therapy based on gas-synergized phototherapy; (4) imaging-guided gas-synergized phototherapy. Finally, the current challenges and future opportunities of gas-synergized phototherapy for tumor treatment are discussed. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE: 1. The novelty and significance of the work with respect to the existing literature. (1) Strategies to design nanoplatforms for gas-synergized anti-tumor phototherapy have been summarized for the first time. Meanwhile, the integration of various imaging technologies and therapy modalities which endow these nanoplatforms with advanced theranostic capabilities has been summarized. (2) The mechanisms by which gases synergize with phototherapy to eradicate tumors are innovatively and comprehensively summarized. 2. The scientific impact and interest. This review elaborates current trends in gas-synergized anti-tumor phototherapy, with special emphases on synergistic anti-tumor mechanisms and rational design of therapeutic nanoplatforms to achieve this synergistic therapy. It aims to provide valuable guidance for researchers in this field.

Nanomedicine Strategies in Conquering and Utilizing the Cancer Hypoxia Environment

Cancer with a complex pathological process is a major disease to human welfare. Due to the imbalance between oxygen (O2) supply and consumption, hypoxia is a natural characteristic of most solid tumors and an important obstacle for cancer therapy, which is closely related to tumor proliferation, metastasis, and invasion. Various strategies to exploit the feature of tumor hypoxia have been developed in the past decade, which can be used to alleviate tumor hypoxia, or utilize the hypoxia for targeted delivery and diagnostic imaging. The strategies to alleviate tumor hypoxia include delivering O2, in situ O2 generation, reprogramming the tumor vascular system, decreasing O2 consumption, and inhibiting HIF-1 related pathways. On the other side, hypoxia can also be utilized for hypoxia-responsive chemical construction and hypoxia-active prodrug-based strategies. Taking advantage of hypoxia in the tumor region, a number of methods have been applied to identify and keep track of changes in tumor hypoxia. Herein, we thoroughly review the recent progress of nanomedicine strategies in both conquering and utilizing hypoxia to combat cancer and put forward the prospect of emerging nanomaterials for future clinical transformation, which hopes to provide perspectives in nanomaterials design.

Photoswitchable upconversion nanoparticles with excitation-dependent emission for programmed stepwise NIR phototherapy

Programmable control over therapeutic processes in phototherapy, like photodynamic therapy (PDT), is promising but challenging. This study uses an energy segmentation-based strategy to synthesize core-multi-shell upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs), which can release three different colors (red, green, and blue) upon exposure to different near-infrared light (1550 nm, 808 nm, and 980 nm). By combining these UCNPs with photosensitizers and nitric oxide (NO) donors, a smart "off-on" PDT nanoplatform is developed. UCNPs enable independent activation of imaging, release of NO, and generation of reactive oxygen species using specific light wavelengths. The results show that sequential NO release before PDT can greatly alleviate tumor hypoxia by reducing oxygen consumption. This stepwise approach shows potential for precise NIR light-activated and imaging-guided phototherapy.

Gas-assisted phototherapy for cancer treatment

Phototherapies, mainly including photodynamic and photothermal therapy, have made considerable strides in the field of cancer treatment. With the aid of phototherapeutic agents, reactive oxygen species (ROS) or heat are generated under light irradiation to selectively damage cancer cells. However, sole-modality phototherapy faces certain drawbacks, such as limited penetration of phototherapeutic agents into tumor tissues, inefficient ROS generation due to hypoxia, treatment-induced inflammation and resistance of tumor to treatment (e.g., high levels of antioxidants, expression of heat shock protein). Gas therapy, an emerging therapy approach that damages cancer cells by improving the level of certain gas at the tumor site, shows potential to overcome the challenges associated with phototherapies. In addition, with the rapid development of nanotechnology, gas-assisted phototherapy based on nanomedicines has emerged as a promising strategy to enhance the treatment efficacy. This review summarizes recent advances in gas-assisted phototherapy and discusses the prospects and challenges of this strategy in cancer phototherapy.

Lipid droplet targeting-guided hypoxic photodynamic therapy with curcumin analogs

Two photosensitizers (CCOH and CCN) were designed and synthesized by introducing coumarin into the curcumin (CUR) structure. Compared with CUR, more reactive oxygen species (ROS) were generated by CCOH and CCN in type I and II synergy upon light irradiation. Cell experiments indicated that CCN with an excellent LD-targeting effect could be used to monitor the changes in the morphology and number of LDs in tumor cells during PDT.

Recent advances in diverse nanosystems for nitric oxide delivery in cancer therapy

Gas therapy has been proven to be a promising and advantageous treatment option for cancers. Studies have shown that nitric oxide (NO) is one of the smallest structurally significant gas molecules with great potential to suppress cancer. However, there is controversy and concern about its use as it exhibits the opposite physiological effects based on its levels in the tumor. Therefore, the anti-cancer mechanism of NO is the key to cancer treatment, and rationally designed NO delivery systems are crucial to the success of NO biomedical applications. This review summarizes the endogenous production of NO, its physiological mechanisms of action, the application of NO in cancer treatment, and nano-delivery systems for delivering NO donors. Moreover, it briefly reviews challenges in delivering NO from different nanoparticles and the issues associated with its combination treatment strategies. The advantages and challenges of various NO delivery platforms are recapitulated for possible transformation into clinical applications.

Shedding Light on Luminescent Janus Nanoparticles: From Synthesis to Photoluminescence and Applications

Luminescent Janus nanoparticles refer to a special category of Janus-based nanomaterials that not only exhibit dual-asymmetric surface nature but also attractive optical properties. The introduction of luminescence has endowed conventional Janus nanoparticles with many alluring light-responsive functionalities and broadens their applications in imaging, sensing, nanomotors, photo-based therapy, etc. The past few decades have witnessed significant achievements in this field. This review first summarizes well-established strategies to design and prepare luminescent Janus nanoparticles and then discusses optical properties of luminescent Janus nanoparticles based on downconversion and upconversion photoluminescence mechanisms. Various emerging applications of luminescent Janus nanoparticles are also introduced. Finally, opportunities and future challenges are highlighted with respect to the development of next-generation luminescent Janus nanoparticles with diverse applications.

Hypoxia responsive phytonanotheranostics: A novel paradigm towards fighting cancer

Hypoxia enhances tumor aggressiveness, thereby reducing the efficacy of anticancer therapies. Phytomedicine, which is nowadays considered as the new panacea owing to its dynamic physiological properties, is often plagued by shortcomings. Incorporating these wonder drugs in nanoparticles (phytonanomedicine) for hypoxia therapy is a new prospect in the direction of cancer management. Similarly, the concept of phytonanotheranostics for the precise tumor lesion detection and treatment monitoring in the hypoxic scenario is going on a rampant speed. In the same line, smart nanoparticles which step in for "on-demand" drug release based on internal or external stimuli are also being explored as a new tool for cancer management. However, studies regarding these smart and tailor-made nanotheranostics in the hypoxic tumor microenvironment are very limited. The present review is an attempt to collate these smart stimuli-responsive phytonanotherapeutics in one place for initiating future research in this upcoming field for better cancer treatment.

Near-infrared mediated orthogonal bioimaging and intracellular tracking of upconversion nanophotosensitizers

Although upconversion photodynamic therapy (PDT) has gained extensive interests in disease treatment, the intracellular migration pathway of upconversion photosensitizers and underlying cell-particle interaction mechanism is still largely unexplored. In this work photoswitchable upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) are reported  that can release orthogonal emissions excited by two near-infrared lights, i.e., red color of 980-nm and green color of 808-nm light excitation. Taking advantage of the dual-emissive property, a methodology based on Pearson's correlation analysis is proposed to verify the accuracy of upconversion luminescence signals under different excitation lights, which has been previously neglected. Meanwhile, we have designed a near-infrared mediated bioimaging nanoplatform that can generate reactive oxygen species (ROS) using one light and simultaneously track the location of upconversion photosensitizers using another excitation light. Our study not only depicts the migration pathway of upconversion photosensitizers, but also demonstrates the organelle escape of these upconversion nanoparticles via PCI (photochemical internalization) process. It is believed that our results inspire more efficient synergistic therapy by combining PDT with other modalities in a programmable manner.

Rare-Earth Doping in Nanostructured Inorganic Materials

Impurity doping is a promising method to impart new properties to various materials. Due to their unique optical, magnetic, and electrical properties, rare-earth ions have been extensively explored as active dopants in inorganic crystal lattices since the 18th century. Rare-earth doping can alter the crystallographic phase, morphology, and size, leading to tunable optical responses of doped nanomaterials. Moreover, rare-earth doping can control the ultimate electronic and catalytic performance of doped nanomaterials in a tunable and scalable manner, enabling significant improvements in energy harvesting and conversion. A better understanding of the critical role of rare-earth doping is a prerequisite for the development of an extensive repertoire of functional nanomaterials for practical applications. In this review, we highlight recent advances in rare-earth doping in inorganic nanomaterials and the associated applications in many fields. This review covers the key criteria for rare-earth doping, including basic electronic structures, lattice environments, and doping strategies, as well as fundamental design principles that enhance the electrical, optical, catalytic, and magnetic properties of the material. We also discuss future research directions and challenges in controlling rare-earth doping for new applications.

Recent Advances in Strategies for Addressing Hypoxia in Tumor Photodynamic Therapy

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a treatment modality that uses light to target tumors and minimize damage to normal tissues. It offers advantages including high spatiotemporal selectivity, low side effects, and maximal preservation of tissue functions. However, the PDT efficiency is severely impeded by the hypoxic feature of tumors. Moreover, hypoxia may promote tumor metastasis and tumor resistance to multiple therapies. Therefore, addressing tumor hypoxia to improve PDT efficacy has been the focus of antitumor treatment, and research on this theme is continuously emerging. In this review, we summarize state-of-the-art advances in strategies for overcoming hypoxia in tumor PDTs, categorizing them into oxygen-independent phototherapy, oxygen-economizing PDT, and oxygen-supplementing PDT. Moreover, we highlight strategies possessing intriguing advantages such as exceedingly high PDT efficiency and high novelty, analyze the strengths and shortcomings of different methods, and envision the opportunities and challenges for future research.

NIR light‐triggered peroxynitrite anion production via direct lanthanide‐triplet photosensitization for enhanced photodynamic therapy

Peroxynitrite anion (ONOO−), a product derived from reaction between reactive oxygen species (ROS) and nitric oxide (NO), is considered to be a more toxic reactive specie than most ROS for...

Bone-Targeted ICG/Cyt c@ZZF-8 Nanoparticles Based on the Zeolitic Imidazolate Framework-8: A New Synergistic Photodynamic and Protein Therapy for Bone Metastasis

Bone metastasis (BM) is a solid tumor confined to narrow bone marrow cavities with a relatively poor blood supply and hypoxic environment, making conventional anticancer treatments difficult. In our study,...

808 nm NIR-triggered Camellia sapogein/curcumin based antibacterial upconversion nanoparticles for synergistic photodynamic-chemical combined therapy

Antibacterial upconversion nanoparticles (UCNP) based photodynamic-chemical combined therapy (UCNP-aPCCT) provides an ideal method to solve the antibiotic-resistant bacteria in deep-tissue infection. Saponin is a kind natural product exhibiting promising antibacterial...

The Biologically Relevant Coordination Chemistry of Iron and Nitric Oxide: Electronic Structure and Reactivity

Nitric oxide (NO) is an important signaling molecule that is involved in a wide range of physiological and pathological events in biology. Metal coordination chemistry, especially with iron, is at the heart of many biological transformations involving NO. A series of heme proteins, nitric oxide synthases (NOS), soluble guanylate cyclase (sGC), and nitrophorins, are responsible for the biosynthesis, sensing, and transport of NO. Alternatively, NO can be generated from nitrite by heme- and copper-containing nitrite reductases (NIRs). The NO-bearing small molecules such as nitrosothiols and dinitrosyl iron complexes (DNICs) can serve as an alternative vehicle for NO storage and transport. Once NO is formed, the rich reaction chemistry of NO leads to a wide variety of biological activities including reduction of NO by heme or non-heme iron-containing NO reductases and protein post-translational modifications by DNICs. Much of our understanding of the reactivity of metal sites in biology with NO and the mechanisms of these transformations has come from the elucidation of the geometric and electronic structures and chemical reactivity of synthetic model systems, in synergy with biochemical and biophysical studies on the relevant proteins themselves. This review focuses on recent advancements from studies on proteins and model complexes that not only have improved our understanding of the biological roles of NO but also have provided foundations for biomedical research and for bio-inspired catalyst design in energy science.

Stimulus-responsive nanomaterials under physical regulation for biomedical applications

Cancer is a growing threat to human beings. Traditional treatments for malignant tumors usually involve invasive means to healthy human tissues, such as surgical treatment and chemotherapy. In recent years the use of specific stimulus-responsive materials in combination with some non-contact, non-invasive stimuli can lead to better efficacy and has become an important area of research. It promises to develop personalized treatment systems for four types of physical stimuli: light, ultrasound, magnetic field, and temperature. Nanomaterials that are responsive to these stimuli can be used to enhance drug delivery, cancer treatment, and tissue engineering. This paper reviews the principles of the stimuli mentioned above, their effects on materials, and how they work with nanomaterials. For this aim, we focus on specific applications in controlled drug release, cancer therapy, tissue engineering, and virus detection, with particular reference to recent photothermal, photodynamic, sonodynamic, magnetothermal, radiation, and other types of therapies. It is instructive for the future development of stimulus-responsive nanomaterials for these aspects.

Conquering the Hypoxia Limitation for Photodynamic Therapy

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) has aroused great research interest in recent years owing to its high spatiotemporal selectivity, minimal invasiveness, and low systemic toxicity. However, due to the hypoxic nature characteristic of many solid tumors, PDT is frequently limited in therapeutic effect. Moreover, the consumption of O₂ during PDT may further aggravate the tumor hypoxic condition, which promotes tumor proliferation, metastasis, and invasion resulting in poor prognosis of treatment. Therefore, numerous efforts have been made to increase the O₂ content in tumor with the goal of enhancing PDT efficacy. Herein, these strategies developed in past decade are comprehensively reviewed to alleviate tumor hypoxia, including 1) delivering exogenous O₂ to tumor directly, 2) generating O₂ in situ, 3) reducing tumor cellular O₂ consumption by inhibiting respiration, 4) regulating the TME, (e.g., normalizing tumor vasculature or disrupting tumor extracellular matrix), and 5) inhibiting the hypoxia-inducible factor 1 (HIF-1) signaling pathway to relieve tumor hypoxia. Additionally, the O₂ -independent Type-I PDT is also discussed as an alternative strategy. By reviewing recent progress, it is hoped that this review will provide innovative perspectives in new nanomaterials designed to combat hypoxia and avoid the associated limitation of PDT.

Application of lanthanide-doped upconversion nanoparticles for cancer treatment: a review

With the excellent ability to transform near-infrared light to localized visible or UV light, thereby achieving deep tissue penetration, lanthanide ion-doped upconversion nanoparticles (UCNP) have emerged as one of the most striking nanoscale materials for more effective and safer cancer treatment. Up to now, UCNPs combined with photosensitive components have been widely used in the delivery of chemotherapy drugs, photodynamic therapy and photothermal therapy. Applications in these directions are reviewed in this article. We also highlight microenvironmental tumor monitoring and precise targeted therapies. Then we briefly summarize some new trends and the existing challenges for UCNPs. We hope this review can provide new ideas for future cancer treatment based on UCNPs.

Supramolecular micelles as multifunctional theranostic agents for synergistic photodynamic therapy and hypoxia-activated chemotherapy

Photodynamic therapy (PDT), where a photosensitizer (under light irradiation) converts molecular oxygen to singlet oxygen to elicit programmed cell death, is a promising cancer treatment modality with a high temporal and spatial resolution. However, only limited cancer treatment efficacy has been achieved in clinical PDT due to the hypoxic conditions of solid tumor microenvironment that limits the generation of singlet oxygen, and PDT process often leads to even more hypoxic microenvironment due to the consumption of oxygens during therapy. Herein, we designed novel supramolecular micelles to co-deliver photosensitizer and hypoxia-responsive prodrug to improve the overall therapeutic efficacy. The supramolecular micelles (CPC) were derived from a polyethylene glycol (PEG) system dually tagged with hydrophilic cucurbit[7]uril (CB[7]) and hydrophobic Chlorin e6 (Ce6), respectively on each end, for synergistic antitumor therapy via PDT of Ce6 and chemotherapy of a hypoxia-responsive prodrug, banoxantrone (AQ4N), loaded into the cavity of CB[7]. In addition, CPC was further modularly functionalized by folate (FA) via strong host-guest interaction between folate-amantadine (FA-ADA) and CB[7] to produce a novel nanoplatform, AQ4N@CPC-FA, for targeted delivery. AQ4N@CPC-FA exhibited enhanced cellular uptake, negligible cytotoxicity and good biocompatibility, and improved intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation efficiency. More importantly, in vivo evaluation of AQ4N@CPC-FA revealed a synergistic antitumor efficacy between PDT of Ce6 and hypoxia-activated chemotherapy of AQ4N (that can be converted to chemotherapeutic AQ4 for tumor chemotherapy in response to the strengthened hypoxic tumor microenvironment during PDT treatment). This study not only provides a new nanoplatform for synergistic photodynamic-chemotherapeutic treatment, but also offers important new insights to design and development of multifunctional supramolecular drug delivery system. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE: Photodynamic therapy (PDT) has exhibited a variety of advantages for cancer phototherapy as compared to traditional chemotherapy. However, the unsatisfactory therapeutic efficacy by PDT alone as a result of the enhanced tumor hypoxia during PDT has limited its clinical application. Herein, we designed multifunctional supramolecular micelles to co-deliver photosensitizer and hypoxia-responsive prodrug to improve the overall therapeutic efficacy. The supramolecular micelles are biocompatible and possess strong red absorption, controlled drug release profile, and ultimately enhanced therapeutic outcome via PDT-chemotherapy. This study not only provides a new nanoplatform for synergistic photodynamic-chemotherapeutic treatment of cancer, but also offers important new insights to design and development of multifunctional supramolecular drug delivery tool for multi-modality cancer therapy.

Lanthanide-Doped Nanoparticles for Near-Infrared Light Activation of Photopolymerization: Fundamentals, Optimization and Applications

Photopolymerization refers to a type of polymerization process in which light is utilized as excitation source to initiate polymerization of monomers and oligomers. Despite great progress, photopolymerization is typically induced by ultraviolet or visible light, which still greatly restrains its applications. Upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) represent a class of optical nanomaterials that are able to convert low-energy near-infrared (NIR) light into high-energy ultraviolet (or visible light) emissions. In this context, UCNP-assisted photopolymerization has recently attracted extensive attentions due to its unique advantages. In this account, recent advances in the fundamentals, optimization and emerging applications of UCNP-based photopolymerization are reviewed. Fundamental theories of upconversion luminescence and photopolymerization will be introduced first. Various optimization approaches to improve UCNP-assisted photopolymerization are then summarized, followed by diverse emerging applications. Challenges and future perspectives in this area will be provided as a conclusion.

Synergistic upconversion photodynamic and photothermal therapy under cold near-infrared excitation

Lanthanide-doped upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) have been extensively investigated due to their unique capabilities of upconverting near-infrared light (NIR) to visible/ultraviolet emission. However, use of conventional Yb-based UCNPs under 980 nm excitation for biomedical applications is limited due to the overheating caused by the strong light absorption by water at this wavelength. Although this could be improved by using Nd³⁺-Yb³⁺ codoped UCNPs and changing the excitation wavelength to 808 nm, the amount of Nd³⁺ doping is usually below 20 mol% due to the lattice strain in highly Nd-doped core-shell structures. In this study, we report Nd³⁺-sensitized NaYF₄:Yb,Er@NaLuF₄:Nd@NaLuF₄ UCNPs, in which the NaLuF₄ in the intermediate shell can accommodate more structural changes caused by the Nd³⁺ doping, and allow for high concentration of Nd³⁺ doping (up to 50 mol%). Due to such high Nd³⁺ doping in the nanostructure, the red and green upconversion emissions of as-synthesized UCNPs are significantly increased upon 808 nm excitation, which are used to activate two photosensitizer drugs, MC540 (merocyanine 540) and FePc (iron phthalocyanine), for the dual photodynamic and photothermal therapy. The results show that the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) upon 808 nm light excitation is substantially boosted due to the synergistic therapeutic effect, which significantly prohibits the growth of cancer cells. It is believed that the nanoplatform specially developed in this study can solve the overheating issue associated with the 980 nm light excitation and the combined photodynamic and photothermal therapy can significantly improve the cancer therapy efficacy.

NIR-triggered upconversion nanoparticles@thermo-sensitive liposome hybrid theranostic nanoplatform for controlled drug delivery

A novel hybrid photothermal theranostic nanoplatform UCNPs@Bi@SiO2@GE HP-lips is developed. Upon NIR irradiation, the nanoplatform could photothermally trigger controlled drug release and present bright upconversion luminescence.