Issue 7, 2019

AlPcS-loaded gold nanobipyramids with high two-photon efficiency for photodynamic therapy in vivo

Abstract

Recent years have witnessed significant progress in the field of two-photon-activated photodynamic therapy (TP-PDT). However, traditional photosensitizer (PS)-based TP-PDT remains a critical challenge in clinics due to its low two-photon absorption cross sections. Here, we propose that the therapeutic activity of the current photosensitizer, sulfonated Al-phthalocyanine (AlPcS), can be efficiently excited via plasmonic-resonance energy transfer from the two-photon excited gold nanobipyramids (GBPs) and further generates cytotoxic singlet oxygen for cancer eradication. GBPs possess large two-photon absorption cross sections, excellent photostability, and biocompatibility, which can be used for a high two-photon light-harvesting material in biomedical applications. We compared the in vitro and in vivo capabilities of AlPcS-loaded GBPs as a TP-PDT agent for theranostic applications by benchmarking them against those of the extensively studied gold nanospheres (GNS) and nanorods (GNR). Although all these Au nanostructures could cause enhanced PS two-photon excitation fluorescence and improved singlet oxygen generation capability via the plasmonic resonance-energy transfer process, GBP-AlPcS exhibited the highest two-photon efficiency for photodynamic therapy. Remarkably, in vivo experiment results clearly indicated that the GBP-AlPcS caused efficient suppression of tumor growth and minimal adverse effects on orthotopic A549 human lung tumor xenografts. The system presents great efficiency in improving the treatment depth and precision of traditional photodynamic therapy.

Graphical abstract: AlPcS-loaded gold nanobipyramids with high two-photon efficiency for photodynamic therapy in vivo

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
01 ⵉⵏⵏ 2019
Accepted
17 ⵉⵏⵏ 2019
First published
23 ⵉⵏⵏ 2019

Nanoscale, 2019,11, 3386-3395

AlPcS-loaded gold nanobipyramids with high two-photon efficiency for photodynamic therapy in vivo

J. Wang, X. Zhuo, X. Xiao, R. Mao, Y. Wang, J. Wang and J. Liu, Nanoscale, 2019, 11, 3386 DOI: 10.1039/C9NR00004F

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements