Phosphotungstate Acid Doped Polyanilines Nanorods for in situ NIR-II Photothermal Therapy of Orthotopic Hepatocellular Carcinoma in Rabbit

Abstract

Introduction Second near-infrared photothermal therapy (NIR-II PTT) has become a promising strategy for treating cancer in terms of safety and potency. However, the application of NIR-II PTT was limited in the treatment of deep-buried solid tumors due to the low dose of NIR-II absorption nanomaterials and the inadequate laser energy in the deep tumor. Methods Herein, the authors report the engineering of NIR-II absorbing polyaniline nanorods, termed HPW@PANI Nanorods, for in situ NIR-II PTT based on optical fibers transmission of laser power and transarterial infusion for the treatment of orthotopic hepatocellular carcinoma in the rabbit. HPW@PANI Nanorods were prepared via chemical oxidant polymerization of aniline under phosphotungstic acid, which exhibited effective NIR-II absorption for hyperthermia ablation cells. Results HPW@PANI Nanorods were fast and efficiently deposited into primary orthotopic transplantation VX2 tumor in rabbits via transarterial infusion. Furthermore, an optical fiber was interventionally inserted into the primary VX2 tumor to transmit 1064nm laser energy for in situ NIR-II PTT, which could ablate primary tumor, inhibit distant tumor, and suppress peritoneal metastasis. Conclusion This study provides new insights into the application of in situ NIR-II PTT based on optical fibers transmission of laser power and transarterial injection of NIR-II absorption nanomaterials to treat deep-buried tumors.

Nanomaterials for photothermal cancer therapy

“…Researchers have attempted to develop PTAs with strong absorption in the NIR II region, which has deeper tissue penetration ability than NIR I PTAs, further achieving more efficient tumor ablation. 148 Other researchers have tried irradiating tumor tissue with a fibre-optic NIR laser 149 to improve the limitation of NIR light penetration depth.…”

Synergistic Nanomedicine: Photodynamic, Photothermal and Photoimmune Therapy in Hepatocellular Carcinoma: Fulfilling the Myth of Prometheus?

“…This protocol was tested for primary tumor ablation, remote tumor inhibition and the suppression of peritoneal metastasis. This experiment provides new hints for in situ NIR-II PTT implementation using optical fiber transmission of laser energy coupled with transarterial injection of NIR-II absorption nanomaterials to treat the deepest solid tumors [120].…”

“…Tian et al, designed and prepared NIR-II-absorbing polyaniline nanorods (HPW@PANI Nanorods) via chemical oxidative polymerization of aniline under phosphotungstic acid, which displayed successful NIR-II absorption for hyperthermia and ablation of tumoral cells [120]. The researchers applied the HPW@PANI nanorods for in situ NIR-II PTT in the orthotopic HCC in rabbits, using optical fiber transmission of laser power.…”

Progress in the Treatment of Peritoneal Metastatic Cancer and the Application of Therapeutic Nanoagents

“…Moreover, due to the continuous research and development of second near-infrared (NIR-II) photothermal therapy in recent years, it has become a promising strategy for the treatment of cancer in terms of safety and efficacy. For example, in 2022, Tian et al proposed the preparation of polyaniline nanorods (HPW@PANI) by oxidative chemical polymerization of aniline with phosphotungstic acid and ammonium persulfate, which possess strong NIR-II light absorption, good photostability, enhanced photothermal conversion efficiency, and good biocompatibility and demonstrated an extremely strong inhibition of cancer cell peritoneum in a double in situ transplanted VX2 rabbit tumor model metastasis effect …”

“…For example, Yu et al reported in 2022 a ternary NP (HA@F-PaP/ short interfering RNA (siRNA)) synthesized by stepwise polymerization of a polyamine precursor (F-PaP) for encapsulating siRNA followed by HA encapsulation. The siRNA in the ternary NPs affects the proliferation of cancer 162 In addition to their use as carriers for chemotherapeutic drugs and RNA, organic polymer-based nanomaterials are also being developed for use as fluorescent probes in image-guided cancer surgery to achieve higher emission brightness, longer afterglow luminescence times, ideal nanoscale size and surface chemistry, imaging of tumors <1 mm, and extremely high tumor-to-normal tissue signal ratios that are currently unattainable in clinical practice. 163−165 For example, in 2018, Ni et al were the first to report near-infrared (NIR) afterglow luminescent AIE (with aggregation-induced emission properties) probes with ultralong afterglow times for facilitating image-guided cancer surgery (Figure 8a).…”