Shengnan Li

Facile synthesis of polypyrrole@metal–organic framework core–shell nanocomposites for dual-mode imaging and synergistic chemo-photothermal therapy of cancer cells

In our work, we report a facile approach to fabricate well-dispersed polypyrrole@metal-organic framework (PPy@MOF) core-shell nanocomposites (NCs) with a polypyrrole (PPy) core and an MIL-100(Fe) shell. The adsorbed Fe(iii) ions on the as-fabricated PPy surface were utilized as reactive sites for further growth of the MIL-100(Fe) in the presence of trimesic acid (H3btc). The resulting NCs exhibited strong absorption in the near infrared (NIR) region and possessed an excellent photothermal efficiency of ∼40% resulting from the PPy core. The MOF structure based on Fe(iii) carboxylate materials held great ability for storage/delivery of the hydrophilic anti-cancer drug, doxorubicin (DOX). The released DOX continuously increased due to the damage of the shell at low pH values. When the DOX-loaded PPy@MIL-100(Fe) NCs were exposed to NIR irradiation, owing to the heat produced by the NCs, the local temperature increased, resulting in a faster release of DOX from the MIL-100(Fe) shell. Furthermore, PPy@MIL-100(Fe) NCs were successfully employed for dual-mode magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)/photoacoustic imaging (PAI) and synergistic chemo-photothermal therapy of cancer cells. Therefore, our work could encourage further study in the construction of a multifunctional platform using different MOF nanomaterials for cancer theranostics.

A designed synthesis of multifunctional Fe3O4@carbon/zinc phosphate nanoparticles for simultaneous imaging and synergic chemo-photothermal cancer therapy

A simple, novel, and reproducible synthetic strategy was developed to fabricate multifunctional Fe3O4@carbon/zinc phosphate core-shell nanoparticles (Fe3O4@C/ZnP NPs), which were employed as pH/near infrared (NIR)-responsive drug carriers for simultaneous magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and synergistic chemo-photothermal cancer therapy in vitro.

Designed Synthesis of Au/Fe3O4@C Janus Nanoparticles for Dual-Modal Imaging and Actively Targeted Chemo-Photothermal Synergistic Therapy of Cancer Cells.

Elaborately designed novel multifunctional Janus nanoparticles (JNPs) have attracted considerable attention owing to their anisotropic surface properties and various functionalities that allow them to house several components for the detection and targeting of cancer cells. In this work, we report a novel and facile approach to synthesize Au/Fe3 O4 @C JNPs, which were further selectively functionalized with amino-poly(ethylene glycol)thiol (NH2 -PEG-SH) and folic acid (FA) on the exposed Au domains to achieve high contrast for X-ray computed tomography (CT) imaging, excellent stability, good biocompatibility, as well as cancer cell-specific targeting. Meanwhile, the other Fe3 O4 @C sides with mesoporous structure served as a drug delivery vehicle for doxorubicin (DOX), an efficient photothermal therapy (PTT) agent, and a magnetic resonance (MR) imaging contrast agent. Taking these features together, these unique multifunctional JNPs provide an intriguing nanoplatform for dual-modal CT and MR imaging-guided actively targeted chemo-photothermal synergistic cancer therapy.

Designed Synthesis of Lipid-Coated Polyacrylic Acid/Calcium Phosphate Nanoparticles as Dual pH-Responsive Drug-Delivery Vehicles for Cancer Chemotherapy

Herein, we report a facile strategy to prepare supported lipid-bilayer-coated polyacrylic acid/calcium phosphate nanoparticles (designated as PAA/CaP@SLB NPs) as a new dual pH-responsive drug-delivery platform for cancer chemotherapy. The synthesized PAA/CaP NPs exhibited both a high payload of doxorubicin (DOX) and dual pH-responsive drug-release properties. Additionally, the coated lipid bilayer had the ability to enhance the cellular uptake of PAA/CaP NPs without affecting the pH-responsive drug release. Moreover, the blank PAA/CaP@SLB NPs exhibited excellent biocompatibility and the DOX-loaded PAA/CaP@SLB NPs markedly increased the cellular accumulation of DOX and its cytotoxic effects on HepG-2 cells. Furthermore, when used to evaluate the in vivo therapeutic efficacy in mice with the hepatocarcinoma cell line (H-22), the DOX-loaded PAA/CaP@SLB NPs exhibited superior inhibition of tumor growth compared with the free DOX group. Thus, PAA/CaP@SLB NPs are a promising drug-delivery vehicle to increase the therapeutic efficacy of anticancer drugs.

A designed synthesis of multifunctional carbon nanoframes for simultaneous imaging and synergistic chemo-photothermal cancer therapy

Owing to their small size and unique optical properties, carbon nanomaterials have attracted considerable attention due to their promising biomedical applications. In this work, we report a silica (SiO2) protected calcination strategy to fabricate mesoporous carbon nanoframes (mCNFs) from zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 (ZIF-8) precursors. The resulting mCNFs have many merits including drug loading capability, excellent photothermal efficiency (21%), dual pH/near-infrared (NIR) responsive controlled drug release and good biocompatibility. When 5-FU-loaded mCNFs were subjected to NIR irradiation, a burst release of 5-FU occurs owing to the heat produced by the mCNFs. Furthermore, mCNFs are successfully employed for photoacoustic imaging (PAI) and synergistic chemo-photothermal cancer therapy. Taken together, mCNFs can be developed as a promising theranostic agent for cancer treatment.

Dual drug delivery and sequential release by amphiphilic Janus nanoparticles for liver cancer theranostics

Co-delivery of two drugs with diverse physicochemical properties and specific administration order for cancer theranostics are vitally important for drug resistance conquering and side effects reducing. Consequently, we explored a unique amphiphilic PCL-AuNC/Fe(OH)3-PAA Janus nanoparticle (JNP) to simultaneously preserve the hydrophilic drug (doxorubicin) and hydrophobic drug (docetaxel) in their distinct domains. Owing to their extraordinary heterostructure and independent pH and NIR sensitive properties, the optional sequential drug release by a single inorganic JNP was realized for the first time, and the results presented the synchronous release of two drugs had 5% better therapeutic effect. In addition, the excellent computed X-ray tomography/magnetic resonance (CT/MR) imaging capabilities from AuNC and Fe(OH)3 suggested our JNPs could effectively guide the cancer therapy. Furthermore, the mice treated with dual drug loaded PCL-AuNC/Fe(OH)3-PAA JNPs under near infrared (NIR) laser irradiation showed better tumor inhibition than solo drug, cocktail and dual drug treated groups, indicating the effectivity and significance of combined cancer therapy.

Selective growth synthesis of ternary Janus nanoparticles for imaging guided synergistic chemo- and photothermal therapy in the second NIR window

Multifunctional therapeutic agents in the second near-infrared (NIR-II) window have attracted wide attention on account of their synergetic properties for effective cancer therapy. Here, we construct a selective growth strategy for the first time to fabricate ternary Janus nanoparticles (JNPs) containing hemispherical MnO2 at one side and Au core covered with CuS shell at opposite side. The obtained ternary JNPs are further modified with poly(ethylene glycol)thiol to enhance the stability and biocompatibility (designated as PEG-CuS-Au-MnO2 ternary JNPs). The MnO2 domain with mesoporous structures can serve as hydrophobic drug carriers and magnetic resonance (MR) imaging contrast agents. Meanwhile, the Au segment is used for X-ray computed tomography (CT) imaging. Moreover, the PEG-CuS-Au-MnO2 ternary JNPs can conduct hyperthermia at 1064 nm in NIR-II window to ablate tumors in deep tissue, which is ascribed to the localized surface plasmon resonance coupling effect of the Au core and CuS domain. All of the results reveal that PEG-CuS-Au-MnO2 ternary JNPs not only exhibit pre-eminent CT/MR imaging capabilities, but also provide high chemo-photothermal antitumor efficacy under the guidance of CT/MR imaging. Taking together, the PEG-CuS-Au-MnO2 ternary JNPs can be regarded as a prospective therapeutic nanoplatform for dual-modal imaging-guided synergistic chemo-photothermal cancer therapy in the NIR-II window.