A Novel Biomimetic Nanoprobe as a Photoacoustic Contrast Agent

Abstract

Specific detection of tumors is of pivotal importance to cancer prevention and therapy yet a big challenge. Photoacoustic imaging (PAI) as an emerging non-invasive modality has shown great potential in biomedical and clinical applications. The performance of PAI largely depends on the light-absorption coefficient of the imaged tissue and the PAI contrast agent being used, either endogenously or exogenously. The exogenous contrast agents developed so far have greatly helped to improve PAI, but still have some limitations, such as lack of targeting capacity and easy clearance by the host immune system. Herein, we fabricated a biomimetic nanoprobe with cell membrane coating as a novel PAI contrast agent, namely, MPD [membrane-coated poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA)/dye]. In brief, the organic dye 1,1′-dioctadecyl-3,3,3′,3′-tetramethylindotricarbocyanine iodide (DiR) was encapsulated by the Food and Drug Administration–approved polymer, poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA), to form polymer nanoparticles by emulsification. The nanoparticles are further coated with the cancer cell membrane to form MPD. MPD has outstanding biocompatibility, tumor specificity, and in vivo stability. Thus, MPD is a versatile NIR-I theranostic nanoplatform for PAI-guided cancer diagnosis and therapy.

Cancer Cell Membrane‐Based Materials for Biomedical Applications

“…In the field of PAI, CCM-based research can improve the problem of target imaging. [197] Dong et al [198] developed a CCM-coated DMSN that colocalized with an active DNA PA probe and a GSH-responsive DNA fuel strand for sensitive catalytic ratio PAI of miRNAs with signal amplification capabilities in living mice. Target miRNA attachment to PA probes can initiate an entropy-driven amplification process, which is fueled by DNA fuel strands released from acidic and GSH-TME environments.…”

“…In the field of PAI, CCM‐based research can improve the problem of target imaging. [ 197 ] Dong et al. [ 198 ] developed a CCM‐coated DMSN that colocalized with an active DNA PA probe and a GSH‐responsive DNA fuel strand for sensitive catalytic ratio PAI of miRNAs with signal amplification capabilities in living mice.…”

Cell membrane-camouflaged PLGA biomimetic system for diverse biomedical application

“…High DiR-loading capacity and the whole proteins from source cells were kept. In living tumor xenografted mice, when compared with DiR and DiR-loaded PLGA, MPD presented with the strongest PA signals in tumor and the least liver and spleen accumulation with a longer circulation lifetime allowing for deep tissue imaging (Huang et al., 2021 ).…”