Highly porous PEGylated Bi2S3 nano-urchins as a versatile platform for in vivo triple-modal imaging, photothermal therapy and drug delivery

Zhenglin Li, Ying Hu, Manli Chang, Ken Howard, Xuelei Fan, Ye Sun, Flemming Besenbacher, Miao Yu

Research output: Contribution to journal/Conference contribution in journal/Contribution to newspaperJournal articleResearchpeer-review

Abstract

Biocompatible single-component nanoplatforms simultaneously integrating multiple therapeutic functions with multiple imaging modes are desirable for anticancer treatments. Herein, elaborately-designed highly porous PEGylated bismuth sulfide nano-urchins (Bi 2S 3-PEG NUs) have been successfully synthesized by using Bi 2O 3 nanospheres as the sacrificial template via the hydrothermal process. It is demonstrated that the Bi 2S 3-PEG NUs possess high compatibility, stability, X-ray attenuation ability, near-infrared (NIR) absorbance and photothermal conversion capability, without noticeable toxicity. Based on both in vitro and in vivo results, the product shows excellent performance in highly effective photothermal therapy (PTT) guided by triple-modal imaging, including X-ray computed tomography (CT), and photoacoustic (PA) and infrared thermal (IRT) imaging, without noticeable toxicity in vivo. Importantly, the NUs are highly porous with a high specific surface area and copious mesopores, providing high loading capacity to accommodate drugs (or guest biomolecules) for further applications in chemotherapy and other additional functions. Doxorubicin is loaded as an example, showing a rather high loading capacity (∼37.9%) together with a bimodal on-demand pH/photothermal-sensitive drug release property. Such fascinating multifunctional nanoagents may have considerable applications in antitumor diagnosis and therapy in the clinic.

Original languageEnglish
JournalNanoscale
Volume8
Issue35
Pages (from-to)16005-16016
Number of pages12
ISSN2040-3364
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2016

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