PET friendly: labels for PET imaging are incorporated into completely organic porphysomes by using a fast (30 min), one-pot, high-yielding (>95 %) procedure to produce highly stable (>48 h) radiolabeled nanoparticles that show the highest specific activity ever reported for a (64) Cu-labeled nanoparticle. These (64) Cu-porphysomes can be accurately and noninvasively tracked in vivo.

Photothermal therapy makes use of photothermal sensitizers and laser light to thermally ablate diseased tissues. Porphysome nanoparticles offer a nontoxic alternative to inorganic nanocrystals for the efficient conversion of light into heat. Mn(3+) ions were incorporated directly into the building blocks of our porphysome nanoparticles, thus imparting MRI sensitivity while simultaneously improving photostability and maintaining high photothermal efficiency. Mn porphysomes are as photothermally effective as free-base porphysomes and can rival gadolinium diethylenetriaminepentaacetate (Gd-DTPA) for MRI contrast generation. Their MRI contrast generation, photothermal efficiency, and photostability are unprecedented for an all-organic nanoparticle composed of a single functional component.

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer among men and the second cause of male cancer-related deaths. There are currently three critical needs in prostate cancer imaging to personalize cancer treatment: (1) accurate intraprostatic imaging for multiple foci and extra-capsular extent; (2) monitoring local and systemic treatment response and predicting recurrence; and (3) more sensitive imaging of occult prostate cancer bone metastases. Recently, our lab developed porphysomes, inherently multimodal, all-organic nanoparticles with flexible and robust radiochemistry. Herein, we validate the first in vivo application of 64Cu-porphysomes in clinically relevant orthotopic prostate and bony metastatic cancer models. We demonstrate clear multimodal delineation of orthotopic tumors on both the macro- and the microscopic scales (using both PET and fluorescence) and sensitively detected small bony metastases (<2 mm). The unique and multifaceted properties of porphysomes offers a promising all-in-one prostate cancer imaging agent for tumor detection and treatment response/recurrence monitoring using both radionuclide- and photonic-based strategies.