Tumor-Microenvironment-Responsive Nanoconjugate for Synergistic Antivascular Activity and Phototherapy

Abstract

Insufficient oxygen supply (hypoxia), short half-life (<40 ns) of singlet oxygen, and up-regulation of the heat shock protein expression in solid tumors impede the photodynamic and photothermal therapeutic efficacy. Herein, a near-infrared carrier-free nanoconjugate directacting antiviral (DAA) with synergistic antivascular activity and pH-responsive photodynamic/photothermal behavior was designed and synthesized to improve cancer treatment efficacy. Obtained by the self-assembly approach, the biocompatible DAA nanoparticles (NPs) displayed amplifying pH-responsive photodynamic/photothermal performance in an acidic tumor microenvironment due to the protonation of diethylaminophenyl units. Most important, the antivascular agent 5,6-dimethylxanthenone-4-acetic acid, targeting the vascular endothelial growth factor, can be smartly released from the pro-drug DAA via ester bond hydrolysis at the subacid endocytosis organelles in the endothelial cells, which can effectively destroy the vascular region to prevent tumor proliferation and metastasis. Hence, DAA NPs can specifically target vascular endothelial cells and tumorous lysosomes with desired cellular damage properties in vitro. Therefore, the tumors can be ablated completely with no recurrence and side effects in vivo, which implies that DAA NPs provide a promising approach for cancer treatment via synergistic antivascular activity and photodynamic/photothermal therapy.

Recent Progress in Ferroptosis Inducers for Cancer Therapy

“…Taking advantage of the differences between tumor and normal tissues (e.g., blood flow, oxygen level, pH value, etc. ), nanoparticles eligible to target and response to TME can be designed to improve cancer therapeutic outcome and reduce side effect …”

Achieving High‐Performance Photothermal and Photodynamic Effects upon Combining D–A Structure and Nonplanar Conformation

“…[ 7 ] Many small molecular nanoagents have been synthesized for PTT under 808 nm laser. [ 18,19 ] However, only a few examples can be employed for PDT under same laser irradiation. [ 20,21 ] Moreover, the mechanism of PDT under NIR is still elusive.…”

Eradicating Multidrug‐Resistant Bacteria Rapidly Using a Multi Functional g‐C3N4@ Bi2S3 Nanorod Heterojunction with or without Antibiotics

“…The photodynamic anti‐bacterial (PDA) and photothermal anti‐bacterial (PTA) methods work by generating reactive oxygen species (ROS) (including 1 O 2 , ·OH, and ·O 2− ) and hyperthermia, which can cause damage to bacterial cells . Several studies about the development of nanophotosensitizers have focused on traditional NIR absorption materials, such as gold nanoparticles or nanorods, copper sulfide (CuS), and black phosphorus (BP) .…”