Upconversion nanocrystals (UCNs) display near-infrared (NIR)-responsive photoluminescent properties for NIR imaging and drug delivery. The development of effective strategies for UCN integration with other complementary nanostructures for targeting and drug conjugation is highly desirable. This study reports on a core/shell-based theranostic system designed by UCN integration with a folate (FA)-conjugated dendrimer for tumor targeting and with photocaged doxorubicin as a cytotoxic agent. Two types of UCNs (NaYF4:Yb/Er (or Yb/Tm); diameter = ≈50 to 54 nm) are described, each displaying distinct emission properties upon NIR (980 nm) excitation. The UCNs are surface modified through covalent attachment of photocaged doxorubicin (ONB-Dox) and a multivalent FA-conjugated polyamidoamine (PAMAM) dendrimer G5(FA)6 to prepare UCN@(ONB-Dox)(G5FA). Surface plasmon resonance experiments performed with G5(FA)6 dendrimer alone show nanomolar binding avidity (KD = 5.9 × 10(-9) M) to the folate binding protein. This dendrimer binding corresponds with selective binding and uptake of UCN@(ONB-Dox)(G5FA) by FAR-positive KB carcinoma cells in vitro. Furthermore, UCN@(ONB-Dox)(G5FA) treatment of FAR(+) KB cells inhibits cell growth in a light dependent manner. These results validate the utility of modularly integrated UCN-dendrimer nanocomposites for cell type specific NIR imaging and light-controlled drug release, thus serving as a new theranostic system.

The tamoxifen inducible Cre-ER/loxP system provides tissue specific temporal control of gene recombination events, and can be used to induce expression of reporter genes (e.g. GFP, LacZ) for lineage tracing studies. Cre enzyme fused with estrogen receptor (Cre-ER) is released upon tamoxifen binding, resulting in permanent activation of reporter genes within cells and their progeny. Tamoxifen and its active metabolite, hydroxytamoxifen (4OHT) diffuses rapidly in vivo, making it difficult to restrict labeling to specific locations. In this study, we developed a photocaged 4OHT molecule by covalently attaching 4OHT to an ortho-nitrobenzyl (ONB 1 ) group, rendering 4OHT inactive. Exposure to UV radiation cleaves the bond between ONB 1 and 4OHT, freeing the 4OHT to bind Cre-ER to result in downstream genetic recombination and reporter activation. We show that caged ONB 1 -4OHT crosses the cell membrane and uncages after short UV exposure, resulting in Cre-driven genetic recombination that can be localized to specific regions or tissues. ONB 1 -4OHT can provide spatial control of reporter activation and be adapted with any existing Cre-ER/loxP based system.

Poly(amido amine) (PAMAM) dendrimers constitute an important class of nonviral, cationic vectors in gene delivery. Here we report on a new concept for dendrimer vector design based on the incorporation of dual binding motifs: DNA intercalation, and receptor recognition for targeted delivery. We prepared a series of dendrimer conjugates derived from a fifth generation (G5) PAMAM dendrimer, each conjugated with multiple folate (FA) or riboflavin (RF) ligands for cell receptor targeting, and with 3,8-diamino-6-phenylphenanthridinium ("DAPP")-derived ligands for anchoring a DNA payload. Polyplexes of each dendrimer with calf thymus dsDNA were made and characterized by surface plasmon resonance (SPR) spectroscopy, dynamic light scattering (DLS) and zeta potential measurement. These studies provided evidence supporting polyplex formation based on the observation of tight DNA-dendrimer adhesion, and changes in particle size and surface charge upon coincubation. Further SPR studies to investigate the adhesion of the polyplex to a model surface immobilized with folate binding protein (FBP), demonstrated that the DNA payload has only a minimal effect on the receptor binding activity of the polyplex: KD = 0.22 nM for G5(FA)(DAPP) versus 0.98 nM for its polyplex. Finally, we performed in vitro transfection assays to determine the efficiency of conjugate mediated delivery of a luciferase-encoding plasmid into the KB cancer cell line and showed that RF-conjugated dendrimers were 1 to 2 orders of magnitude more effective in enhancing luciferase gene transfection than a plasmid only control. In summary, this study serves as a proof of concept for DNA-ligand intercalation as a motif in the design of multivalent dendrimer vectors for targeted gene delivery.