Mesoporous carbon nanospheres as a multifunctional carrier for cancer theranostics

  • Libo Zhou
  • , Ying Jing
  • , Yubin Liu
  • , Zhihe Liu
  • , Duyang Gao
  • , Haobin Chen
  • , Weiye Song
  • , Tao Wang
  • , Xiaofeng Fang
  • , Weiping Qin
  • , Zhen Yuan
  • , Sheng Dai
  • , Zhen An Qiao
  • , Changfeng Wu

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

124 Scopus citations

Abstract

Optical nanomaterials with intense absorption in near-infrared (NIR) region hold great promise for biomedical applications such as photothermal therapy (PTT) and photoacoustic imaging (PAI). In this work, we report mesoporous carbon nanospheres (Meso-CNs) with broadband and intense absorption in the UV-Vis-NIR region (300-1400 nm) and explore their potential as a multifunctional platform for photoacoustic imaging and chemo-photothermal therapy. Methods: Meso-CNs were prepared by a "silica-assisted" synthesis strategy and characterized by transmission electron microscope and optical spectroscopy. We investigated the photothermal conversion and photoacoustic imaging of Meso-CNs in comparison with single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs), graphene and gold nanorods (GNRs). In vitro cellular assays and in vivo chemo-photothermal combination therapy were performed. Results: The absorption coefficients of Meso-CNs are 1.5-2 times higher than those of SWCNTs and graphene and are comparable to those of GNRs in both the first and the second near-infrared optical windows (NIR-I and NIR-II) of tissues. When exposed to an NIR laser, the photothermal and photoacoustic signal generation of Meso-CNs are also stronger than those of SWCNTs, graphene, and GNRs. DOX was loaded into Meso-CNs with a high efficiency (35 wt%) owing to the unique mesoporous structure. Particularly, the drug release from Meso-CNs is sensitive to both pH and NIR light stimulation. In vivo chemo-photothermal combination therapy demonstrates a remarkable inhibition effect on tumor growth under NIR laser treatment. Conclusions: We have developed Meso-CNs for photothermal conversion and photoacoustic imaging. The porous structure also serves as a drug carrier and the drug release can be controlled by pH and external light. The high drug loading capacity, superior photothermal and photoacoustic generation, together with the apparent chemo-photothermal therapeutic effect, make Meso-CNs a promising platform for cancer theranostics.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)663-675
Number of pages13
JournalTheranostics
Volume8
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - 2018

Funding

This study was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC 61335001; NSFC 21671073; NSFC 81771930) and Shenzhen Science and Technology Innovation Commission (Grant No. JCYJ20170307110157501). The study was also supported in part by MYRG2015-00036-FHS and MYRG2016-00110-FHS grants from the University of Macau as well as FDCT 026/2014/A1 and FDCT 025/2015/A1 grants from the Macao government.

Keywords

  • Drug delivery
  • Mesoporous carbon nanospheres
  • Near-infrared absorption
  • Photoacoustic imaging
  • Photothermal therapy

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