C-Phycocyanin (CPC) as a tumour-associated macrophage (TAM)-targeted photosensitiser has been first proved, and used as a vehicle of zinc phthalocyanine (ZnPc) to fabricate a ZnPc-CPC conjugate, which exhibits an efficient in vitro photodynamic activity, and selectively accumulates in tumour sites probably due to the affinity to TAM.
Fabrication
of a multifunctional near-infrared (NIR) theranostic
nanoplatform has attracted increasing attention. Indocyanine green
(ICG), a clinic-approved NIR fluorescence-imaging agent, is an excellent
photothermal agent candidate. However, the stability and tumor targeting
are still great obstacles for its wide application. In this work,
C-phycocyanin (CPC) as a tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) targeted
vehicle was used to fabricate noncovalent ICG conjugate of CPC (ICG@CPC)
via self-assembly in aqueous media. Compared to free ICG, ICG@CPC
displays improved stabilities in aqueous solutions and under light
irradiation and threefold increase in photothermal conversion efficiency.
The in vitro results indicated that ICG@CPC could
be selectively internalized into J774A.1 cells via SR-A-mediated endocytosis
and lead to enhanced photocytotoxicity against J774A.1 cells. In vivo results showed that ICG@CPC had significantly improved
drug accumulation in the tumor and photothermal therapeutic efficacy
relative to ICG alone. This study for the first time utilizes CPC
as a TAMs-targeted nanocarrier for ICG and may promote further rational
design of ICG-based photothermal nanodrugs for precise and efficient
cancer theranosis.
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