All-In-One Second Near-Infrared Light-Responsive Drug Delivery System for Synergistic Chemo-Photothermal Therapy

Abstract

Light-responsive nanocarrier-based drug delivery systems (NDDSs), due to their unique advantages such as safety, minimal cross-reaction, and spatiotemporal precision, have received wide attention. Notably, second near-infrared (NIR-II) light, which has a high penetration depth for manipulating NDDSs to release drugs, is in high demand. Herein, polyethylene glycol (PEG)-modified hollow Cu x S nanoparticles (NPs) are developed as an all-in-one NIR-II light-responsive NDDS for synergistic chemo-photothermal therapy. First, Cu x S-PEG NPs were prepared under mild conditions by using Cu 2 O NPs as sacrificial templates. The morphology, photothermal effect, drug loading/releasing abilities, and synergistic chemo-photothermal therapy of Cu x S-PEG NPs have been investigated. The Cu x S-PEG NPs with hollow structures showed a high drug loading capacity (∼255 μg Dox per mg of Cu x S NPs) and stimuli-responsive drug release triggered by NIR-II laser irradiation. The synergistic chemo-photothermal therapy based on the Dox/Cu x S-PEG NPs showed 98.5% tumor elimination. Our study emphasizes the great potential of Cu x S-PEG NPs as an all-in-one NIR-II light-responsive NDDS for applications in biomedicine.

Recent Advances in Stimuli-Responsive Doxorubicin Delivery Systems for Liver Cancer Therapy

“…The limitations of UV-responsive drug delivery systems are poor tissue penetration and the damaging effects on healthy tissues [ 184 ]. As a solution for these limitations, different near-infrared (NIR) or visible light-responsive materials have been developed [ 6 , 185 , 186 ].…”

A novel magnetically guided, oxygen propelled CoPt/Au nanosheet motor in conjugation with a multilayer hollow microcapsule for effective drug delivery and light triggered drug release

“…Among these, the laser irradiation, particularly in the near-infrared (NIR) light region (800-1200 nm), is more suited for the microcapsule opening, as it can be easily transmitted through the body, due to its lower absorption and scattering in tissues with fine spatial control over intensity. 55 Usually, NIR light triggered microcapsules are developed by incorporating gold and silver nanoparticles (NPs) or organic dyes into the walls of capsules. 56,57 Herein, the calcium carbonate core was constructed as follows.…”

Polymer Vesicles with Integrated Photothermal Responsiveness

“…With these additional responsive capacities, polymer vesicles can be more effectively employed in biomedical applications, such as cell/tissue imaging, photoactivated therapies, and pH-responsive drug release. − In this regard, the application of polymer vesicles for photothermal therapy (PTT) has remained remarkably underexplored. − PTT uses photosensitive molecules that upon irradiation lead to a local temperature rise, which, when performed in close proximity of target cells, induces apoptosis. − PTT has an advantage compared to photodynamic therapy because no oxygen is required. Using polymer vesicles, not only the photothermal agents (PTAs) can be targeted to cells, but their loading capacity also allows the co-delivery of other therapeutic agents to develop synergistic therapies for anticancer therapy. , To prevent premature release of the PTAs upon in vivo application, these units should preferably be integrated in the polymer vesicle architecture. Furthermore, to achieve deep penetration and weak absorption in biological tissue, near-infrared (NIR) light is an ideal candidate to be used as an external excitation light source when designing photothermal-responsive polymer vesicles (PTA-Ps). , …”

“…Using polymer vesicles, not only the photothermal agents (PTAs) can be targeted to cells, but their loading capacity also allows the co-delivery of other therapeutic agents to develop synergistic therapies for anticancer therapy. 21 , 22 To prevent premature release of the PTAs upon in vivo application, these units should preferably be integrated in the polymer vesicle architecture. Furthermore, to achieve deep penetration and weak absorption in biological tissue, near-infrared (NIR) light is an ideal candidate to be used as an external excitation light source when designing photothermal-responsive polymer vesicles (PTA-Ps).…”