Issue 35, 2021

Engineering Cu2−xS-conjugated upconverting nanocomposites for NIR-II light-induced enhanced chemodynamic/photothermal therapy of cancer

Abstract

The integration of chemodynamic therapy (CDT) and photothermal therapy (PTT) has played a huge role in improved anticancer treatments. Here, a novel multifunctional nanoplatform based on Cu2−xS conjugated NaYF4:Yb/Er@NaYF4:Yb upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) was proposed and designed. In the UCNPs–Cu2−xS nanocomposites, UCNPs with excellent luminescent properties and a high X-ray attenuation coefficient can serve as an upconversion luminescence (UCL) and computer tomography (CT) imaging contrast agent; meanwhile, Cu(II) in the Cu2−xS nanodots enables the nanocomposites to have a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) ability owing to the presence of unpaired electrons. Moreover, the Cu2−xS nanodots with a strong absorbance in the NIR II biowindow not only could be employed as a stable photothermal agent under NIR laser irradiation, but also could be used as a photothermal-enhanced Fenton nanocatalyst to respond to over-expressed H2O2 in the tumor microenvironment (TME) and generate toxic hydroxyl radicals (˙OH) to effectively kill cancer cells. Furthermore, the UCNPs–Cu2−xS nanocomposites possess negligible cytotoxicity and a high photothermal conversion efficiency (43.8%) in the NIR-II biowindow (1064 nm), indicating that they possess great potential for the UCL/CT/MR multi-modal imaging guided synergistic enhanced CDT/PTT of cancer.

Graphical abstract: Engineering Cu2−xS-conjugated upconverting nanocomposites for NIR-II light-induced enhanced chemodynamic/photothermal therapy of cancer

Associated articles

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
17 Feb 2021
Accepted
22 Mar 2021
First published
24 Mar 2021

J. Mater. Chem. B, 2021,9, 7216-7228

Engineering Cu2−xS-conjugated upconverting nanocomposites for NIR-II light-induced enhanced chemodynamic/photothermal therapy of cancer

K. Du, S. Zhao, J. Feng, X. Gao, K. Liu, X. Wang, M. Zhang, Y. Li, Y. Lu and H. Zhang, J. Mater. Chem. B, 2021, 9, 7216 DOI: 10.1039/D1TB00337B

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