HOCl‐Activated Aggregation of Gold Nanoparticles for Multimodality Therapy of Tumors

Abstract

Tumor microenvironment-responsive nanodrugs offer promising opportunities for imaging-guided precision therapy with reduced side effects. Considering that the antitumor effect is closely related to the size of the nanodrugs, it is particularly important to develop a therapeutic system with size adjustability in the tumor microenvironment, which is still a great challenge in the field of nanotheranostics. Herein, a reactive oxygen species (ROS)-activated aggregation strategy is reported for imaging-guided precision therapy of tumors. The ROS-activated nanoplatform is constructed based on gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) coated with an HOCl probe on its surface (namely, Au-MB-PEG NPs). The Au-MB-PEG NPs show high sensitivity toward HOCl, resulting in the modulation of surface charge and rapid aggregation of AuNPs, and simultaneous release of methylene blue as a photosensitizer for photodynamic therapy (PDT). In the tumor environment, the aggregated AuNPs ensure higher tumor accumulation and retention. Furthermore, the redshift of the absorption of aggregated AuNPs leads to activated photoacoustic imaging signals and photothermal therapy (PTT) under near-infrared irradiation. Au-MB-PEG NPs thus efficiently inhibit the tumor growth through combined PTT-PDT therapy. This work contributes to the design of stimuli-induced size-aggregation nanodrugs, thereby attaining advanced performance in cancer diagnosis and treatment.

Gold nanoparticles (GNPs) in biomedical and clinical applications: A review

“…reported a GNP‐based nanoplatform that exploits the higher concentration of HOCl in the tumor microenvironment. [ 285 ] The FDOCl‐24 and PEG conjugated GNPs yield methylene blue (MB) in the presence of HOCl which later can be used as PS to induce PDT. In the process of generating PS, the gold nanoparticle system aggregates which result in a redshift to the NIR region, activating photoacoustic image (PAI) guided PTT and PDT therapy (Figure 18).…”

“…Due to ease of functionalization for increased cellular uptake as well as PS conjugation, various studies reported PS conjugated GNPs based PDT platform for dual PDT and PTT therapy for cancer treatment. [284,285] Liu et al reported a GNP-based nanoplatform that exploits the higher concentration of HOCl in the tumor microenvironment. [285] The FDOCl-24 and PEG conjugated GNPs yield methylene blue…”

“…[284,285] Liu et al reported a GNP-based nanoplatform that exploits the higher concentration of HOCl in the tumor microenvironment. [285] The FDOCl-24 and PEG conjugated GNPs yield methylene blue…”

“…Adapted with permission from reference. [285] Copyright (2015), John Wiley and Sons (MB) in the presence of HOCl which later can be used as PS to induce PDT. In the process of generating PS, the gold nanoparticle system aggregates which result in a redshift to the NIR region, activating photoacoustic image (PAI) guided PTT and PDT therapy (Figure 18).…”

Theranostic Nanoplatform with Sequential SDT and ADV Effects in Response to Well-Programmed LIFU Irradiation for Cervical Cancer

“…Photodynamic therapy (PDT) and photothermal therapy (PTT) have been extensively studied for minimally invasive tumor treatment. [5][6][7] However, since the penetration depth of light waves into the human body is less than 10 mm, 8 these methods have only certain effects on superficial tumors, which limit their effects to treat cervical cancer and its metastases at different FIGO stages. In addition, nanomedicines for PDT or PTT cannot penetrate deep into the tumor.…”