Issue 12, 2018

Bioresponsive and near infrared photon co-enhanced cancer theranostic based on upconversion nanocapsules

Abstract

Developing nanotheranostics responsive to tumor microenvironments has attracted tremendous attention for on-demand cancer diagnosis and treatment. Herein, a facile Mn-doping strategy was adopted to transform mesoporous silica coated upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) to yolk-like upconversion nanostructures which possess a tumor-responsive biodegradation nature. The huge internal space of the innovated nanocarriers is suitable for doxorubicin (DOX) storage, besides, the Mn-doped shell is sensitive to the intratumoral acidity and reducibility, which enables shell biodegradation and further accelerates the breakage of Si–O–Si bonds within the silica framework. This tumor-responsive shell degradation is beneficial for realizing tumor-specific DOX release. Subsequently, polyoxometalate (POM) nanoclusters that can enhance photothermal conversion in response to the tumor reducibility and acidity were modified on the surface of the silica shell, thereby achieving NIR-enhanced shell degradation and also preventing premature DOX leakage. The as-produced thermal effect of the POM couples with the chemotherapy effect of the released DOX to perform a synergetic chemo-photothermal therapy. Additionally, the shell degradation brings size shrinkage to the nanocarriers, allowing faster nanoparticle diffusion and deeper tumor penetration, which is significant for improving theranostic outcomes. Also, the drastic decline of the red/green (R/G) ratio caused by the DOX release can be used to monitor the DOX release content through a fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) method. The MRI effect caused by Mn release together with the MRI/CT/UCL imaging derived from Gd3+/Yb3+/Nd3+/Er3+ co-doped UCNPs under 808 nm laser excitation endow the nanosystem with multiple imaging capability, thus realizing imaging-guided cancer therapy.

Graphical abstract: Bioresponsive and near infrared photon co-enhanced cancer theranostic based on upconversion nanocapsules

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Edge Article
Submitted
21 dec 2017
Accepted
31 jan 2018
First published
06 feb 2018
This article is Open Access

All publication charges for this article have been paid for by the Royal Society of Chemistry
Creative Commons BY license

Chem. Sci., 2018,9, 3233-3247

Bioresponsive and near infrared photon co-enhanced cancer theranostic based on upconversion nanocapsules

J. Xu, W. Han, Z. Cheng, P. Yang, H. Bi, D. Yang, N. Niu, F. He, S. Gai and J. Lin, Chem. Sci., 2018, 9, 3233 DOI: 10.1039/C7SC05414A

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licence. You can use material from this article in other publications without requesting further permissions from the RSC, provided that the correct acknowledgement is given.

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