Bang-Ping Jiang

Graphene loading water-soluble phthalocyanine for dual-modality photothermal/photodynamic therapy via a one-step method

In this paper, we present a new and facile one-step method for the fabrication of a water-soluble graphene-phthalocyanine (GR-Pc) hybrid material by simply sonicating GR with a hydrophilic Pc, tetrasulfonic acid tetrasodium salt copper phthalocyanine (TSCuPc). In the resultant hybrid material, TSCuPc is coated on the skeleton of pristine GR via non-covalently π-π interaction, detailedly characterized by UV-vis/Raman spectra, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), etc. The obtained GR-Pc hybrid (GR-TSCuPc) is applied for photothermal therapy (PTT) and photodynamic therapy (PDT). In this PTT/PDT system, both GR and TSCuPc operate as multifunctional agents: GR acts as a photosensitizer carrier and PTT agent, while TSCuPc acts as a hydrophilic PDT agent. Furthermore, the results of cell viability show that the phototherapy effect of GR-TSCuPc is observably higher than that of free TSCuPc, indicating that combined noninvasive PTT/PDT exhibits better anti-cancer efficacy in vitro. Such results highlight that this work provide a facile method to develop efficacious dual-modality carbon nanoplatform for developing cancer therapeutics.

One-Step Preparation of a Water-Soluble Carbon Nanohorn/Phthalocyanine Hybrid for Dual-Modality Photothermal and Photodynamic Therapy

The biomedical applications of carbon nanomaterials, especially integrating noninvasive photothermal therapy (PTT) and photodynamic therapy (PDT), into a single system have enormous potential in cancer therapy. Herein, we present a novel and facile one-step method for the preparation of water-soluble single-walled carbon nanohorns (SWNHs) and metal phthalocyanines (MPc) hybrid for PTT and PDT. The hydrophilic MPc, tetrasulfonic acid tetrasodium salt copper phthalocyanine (TSCuPc), is coated on the surface of SWNHs via noncovalent π-π interaction using the sonication method. In this PTT/PDT nanosystem, SWNHs acts as a photosensitizer carrier and PTT agent, while TSCuPc acts as a hydrophilic and PDT agent. The EPR results demonstrated that the generated reactive oxygen species (ROS) not only from the photoinduced electron transfer process from TSCuPc to SWNHs but also from SWNHs without exciting TSCuPc to its excited state. The test of photothermal conversion proved that not only do SWNHs contribute to the photothermal therapy (PTT) effect, TSCuPc probably also contributes to that when it coats on the surface of SWNHs upon exposure to a 650-nm laser. More importantly, the results of in vitro cell viability revealed a significantly enhanced anticancer efficacy of combined noninvasive PTT/PDT, indicating that the SWNHs-TSCuPc nanohybrid is a hopeful candidate material for developing an efficient and biocompatible nanoplatform for biomedical application.

Water-soluble hyaluronic acid–hybridized polyaniline nanoparticles for effectively targeted photothermal therapy

The construction of advanced phototherapy systems with high therapeutic efficacy toward cancer and low side effects, especially targeted species, is highly desirable. Herein, we developed one kind of water-soluble hyaluronic acid-hybridized polyaniline nanoparticles (HA-PANI NPs) as a nanoplatform for photothermal therapy (PTT) with targeted specificity of a CD44-mediated cancer cell. The water-soluble HA-PANI NPs were fabricated by one-step oxidative polymerization using aniline as a polymerizable monomer and HA as a stabilizer and targeted agent, where non-covalent electrostatic interaction between the negatively charged polymer HA and the cationic polymer PANI drives the formation of HA-PANI NPs. It was demonstrated that approximately spherical HA-PANI NPs are well-dispersed in aqueous solutions, with average hydrodynamic diameters of around 100 nm. Besides, HA-PANI NPs have negligible cytotoxicity in vitro, which facilitates biomedical applications with low toxicity. We studied the in vitro photothermal cell-killing efficacy of HA-PANI NPs by MTT assay and confocal microscopy measurement. The results reveal that HA-PANI NPs can selectively kill the cancer cells of HeLa and HCT-116 cells rather than normal cells of HFF cells upon exposure to a NIR 808 nm laser. The efficient intracellular intake of the HA-PANI NPs by both HeLa and HCT-116 cells are observed, confirming their targeting ability for CD44-overexpressing cancer cells. Furthermore, the results of in vivo photothermal ablation of tumors show excellent treatment efficacy, indicating that the HA-PANI NPs can be considered as an extremely promising nanoplatform for targeted PTT of cancer.

Selective Probing of Gaseous Ammonia Using Red-Emitting Carbon Dots Based on an Interfacial Response Mechanism

Solid-state fluorescence sensing is one of the most appealing detection techniques because of its simplicity and convenience in practical operation. Herein, we report the development of a red-emitting carbon dots (RCDs)-based material as a solid-state fluorescence sensor for the selective probing of gaseous ammonia. The RCDs were prepared by a low-cost, one-step carbonization method using sugar cane bagasse as the carbon precursor. The pristine RCDs were then directly coated on polyvinylidene fluoride membrane to produce a new fluorescence sensor capable of selectively distinguishing toxic gaseous ammonia from other analyte vapors through sensitive fluorescence quenching with a low detection limit. More importantly, the interfacial response mechanism occurring on the surface of the RCDs has been studied by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, and Raman measurements. The results indicate that fluorescence quenching in the RCDs might result from ammonia-induced Michael addition through insertion of N into the C=C group and deprotonation of the carboxyl group. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report that provides clear insight into the mechanism of surface chemistry on CDs in the solid state.

Poly(N-phenylglycine)-Based Nanoparticles as Highly Effective and Targeted Near-Infrared Photothermal Therapy/Photodynamic Therapeutic Agents for Malignant Melanoma

Malignant melanoma is a highly aggressive tumor resistant to chemotherapy. Therefore, the development of new highly effective therapeutic agents for the treatment of malignant melanoma is highly desirable. In this study, a new class of polymeric photothermal agents based on poly(N-phenylglycine) (PNPG) suitable for use in near-infrared (NIR) phototherapy of malignant melanoma is designed and developed. PNPG is obtained via polymerization of N-phenylglycine (NPG). Carboxylate functionality of NPG allows building multifunctional systems using covalent bonding. This approach avoids complicated issues typically associated with preparation of polymeric photothermal agents. Moreover, PNPG skeleton exhibits pH-responsive NIR absorption and an ability to generate reactive oxygen species, which makes its derivatives attractive photothermal therapy (PTT)/photodynamic therapy (PDT) dual-modal agents with pH-responsive features. PNPG is modified using hyaluronic acid (HA) and polyethylene glycol diamine (PEG-diamine) acting as the coupling agent. The resultant HA-modified PNPG (PNPG-PEG-HA) shows negligible cytotoxicity and effectively targets CD44-overexpressing cancer cells. Furthermore, the results of in vitro and in vivo experiments reveal that PNPG-PEG-HA selectively kills B16 cells and suppresses malignant melanoma tumor growth upon exposure to NIR light (808 nm), indicating that PNPG-PEG-HA can serve as a very promising nanoplatform for targeted dual-modality PTT/PDT of melanoma.

Water-Dispersible Prussian Blue-Hyaluronic Acid Nanocubes with Near-Infrared Photoinduced Singlet Oxygen Production and Photothermal Activities for Cancer Theranostics

Design and development of photosensitizers that can efficiently convert energy of near-infrared (NIR) laser irradiation are of major importance for cancer photoassisted therapeutics. Herein, for the first time, it is demonstrated that Prussian blue (PB), a classic coordination compound, can act as a novel photosensitizer with efficient generation of singlet oxygen and excellent photothermal conversion via NIR photoirradiation-induced energy transfer. After modification with hyaluronic acid (HA), the as-prepared HA-modified PB nanocubes (HA@PB) are highly dispersible in aqueous and physiological solutions, as well as show excellent photothermal/photodynamic activities under NIR (808 nm) photoexcitation. On the basis of these features, HA@PB is used to study their in vitro and in vivo combined therapeutic effect. Owing to the CD44 ligand of HA, HA@PB have specific uptake by CD44-positive cells in vitro and can be precisely in vivo delivered to the tumor site. HA@PB as one of the synergistically photodynamic/photothermal combination nanoplatforms could achieve excellent therapeutic efficacy with targeted specificity under the guidance of dual-modality photoacoustic/infrared thermal imaging. Hence, this work is expected to pave the way for using PB-based nanomaterials as a promising multifunctional theranostic nanoplatform in biomedical fields.

Multifunctional hyaluronic acid-derived carbon dots for self-targeted imaging-guided photodynamic therapy

It is of vital importance to engineer the surface structures of carbon dots (CDs) to satisfy their practical biomedical applications, including imaging and treatment. In this work, one type of hyaluronic acid-derived CD (HA-CD) was synthesized via a facile one-step hydrothermal method using cancer cell-targeted HA as a precursor. The as-prepared HA-CDs were targeted actively toward CD44 receptor-overexpressing cancer cells because a partial HA structure remained on the HA-CD surface. Beyond this, HA-CDs can act as a novel photosensitizer, because they can generate O2˙- under 650 nm laser irradiation, and they also exhibit excellent blue photoluminescence emission. The in vitro results revealed that HA-CDs imaged selectively CD44-overexpressing cancer cells and inhibited their growth under 650 nm laser irradiation. Thus, HA-CDs can serve as a promising self-targeted imaging-guided photodynamic therapy (PDT) agent for cancer. The present research provides a promising new method to simply construct multifunctional CD-based targeted phototheranostic systems.

Near-Infrared Light Responsive Imaging-Guided Photothermal and Photodynamic Synergistic Therapy Nanoplatform Based on Carbon Nanohorns for Efficient Cancer Treatment

Indocyanine green (ICG) is an effective light absorber for laser-mediated photodynamic therapy. However, applications of ICG are limited due to its rapid degradation and poor photostability in water. Herein, we report the development of a multifunctional nanoplatform by coating ICG on the surface of single-walled carbon nanohorns (SWNHs) through π-π stacking, obtaining SWNH-ICGs with high solubility and stability under physiological conditions. The SWNH-ICGs could be used as a single nanoplatform to simultaneously produce satisfactory hyperthermia and reactive oxygen species under near-infrared (NIR) laser irradiation. In addition, the SWNH-ICGs not only improved the photostability of ICG in different media, but also protected it from light degradation. The SWNH-ICGs exhibited highly efficient thermal/photoacoustic (PA) imaging-guided photothermal therapy (PTT) and photodynamic therapy (PDT) effects, even under low-power laser irradiation (0.3 W cm-2 ) in vitro. Combined PTT and PDT effectively killed triple-negative breast cancer 4T1 cells, demonstrating a markedly improved and synergistic therapeutic effect compared to PTT or PDT alone. Furthermore, significant tumor growth inhibition as well as tumor cell death were observed following PTT/PDT at 808 nm laser irradiation, confirming the synergistic effects of SWNH-ICGs over free ICG in vivo. This facile and simple methodology for thermal/PA imaging-guided PTT/PDT suggests that SWNH-ICGs may serve as an effective nanoplatform for cancer therapy.

Recent Advances in Carbon Nanomaterials for Cancer Phototherapy

Carbon nanomaterials have received great attention from the scientific community over the past few decades because of their unique physical and chemical properties. In this minireview, we will summarize the recent progress of the use of various carbon nanomaterials in the field of cancer phototherapy. The structural characteristics of each category and the surface functionalization strategies of these nanomaterials will be briefly introduced before focusing on their therapeutic applications. Recent advances on their use in photothermal therapy, photodynamic therapy, and combined phototherapies are presented. Moreover, a few challenges and perspectives on the development of carbon nanomaterials for future theranostics are also discussed.

Diiron Hexacarbonyl Complex Induces Site-Specific Release of Carbon Monoxide in Cancer Cells Triggered by Endogenous Glutathione

In this study, we have evaluated a water-soluble, nontarget reagent and a carrier-free diiron hexacarbonyl complex, [Fe2{μ-SCH2CH(OH)CH2(OH)}2(CO)6] (TG-FeCORM), that can induce the site-specific release of carbon monoxide (CO) in cancer cells triggered by endogenous glutathione (GSH). The releasing rate of CO was dependent on the amount of endogenous GSH. Being the amount of endogenous GSH higher in cancer cells than in normal cells, the CO-releasing rate resulted faster in cancer cells. Moreover, the anti-inflammatory properties related to the intracellular CO release of TG-FeCORM were also confirmed in the living HeLa cells.