Sonodynamic therapy is a noninvasive treatment method that generates reactive oxygen species (ROS) triggered by ultrasound, to achieve oxidative damage to tumors. However, methods are required to improve the efficiency of ROS generation and achieve continuous oxidative damage. A ternary heterojunction sonosensitizer composed of Bi@BiO 2−x @Bi 2 S 3 -PEG (BOS) to achieve thermal injury-assisted continuous sonodynamic therapy for tumors is prepared. The oxygen vacancy in BOS can capture hot electrons and promotes the separation of hot carriers on the bismuth surface. The local electric field induced by localized surface plasmon resonance also contributes to the rapid transfer of electrons. Therefore, BOS not only possesses the functions of each component but also exhibits higher catalytic activity to generate ROS. Meanwhile, BOS continuously consumes glutathione, which is conducive to its biodegradation and achieves continuous oxidative stress injury. In addition, the photothermal conversion of BOS under near-infrared irradiation helps to achieve thermal tumor damage and further relieves tumor hypoxia, thus amplifying the sonodynamic therapeutic efficacy. This process not only provides a strategy for thermal damage to amplify the efficacy of sonodynamic therapy, but also expands the application of bismuth-based heterojunction nanomaterials as sonosensitizers in sonodynamic therapy.
Rhenium (Re) is widely used in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer due to its unique physical and chemical properties. Re has more valence electrons in its outer shell, allowing it to exist in a variety of oxidation states and to form different geometric configurations with many different ligands. The luminescence properties, lipophilicity, and cytotoxicity of complexes can be adjusted by changing the ligand of Re. This article mainly reviews the development of radionuclide 188Re in radiotherapy and some innovative applications of Re as well as the different therapeutic approaches and imaging techniques used in cancer therapy. In addition, the current application and future challenges and opportunities of Re are also discussed.
Although sorafenib, a multi-kinase inhibitor, has provided
noteworthy
benefits in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the inevitable
side effects, narrow therapeutic window, and low bioavailability seriously
affect its clinical application. To be clinically distinctive, innovative
drugs must meet the needs of reaching tumor tissues and cause limited
side effects to normal organs and tissues. Recently, photodynamic
therapy, utilizing a combination of a photosensitizer and light irradiation,
was selectively accumulated at the tumor site and taken up effectively
via inducing apoptosis or necrosis of cancer cells. In this study,
a nano-chemo-phototherapy drug was fabricated to compose an iridium-based
photosensitizer combined with sorafenib (IPS) via a self-assembly
process. Compared to the free iridium photosensitizer or sorafenib,
the IPS exhibited significantly improved therapeutic efficacy against
tumor cells because of the increased cellular uptake and the subsequent
simultaneous release of sorafenib and generation of reactive oxygen species production
upon 532 nm laser irradiation. To evaluate the effect of synergistic
treatment, cytotoxicity detection, live/dead staining, cell proliferative
and apoptotic assay, and Western blot were performed. The IPS exhibited
sufficient biocompatibility by hemolysis and serum biochemical tests.
Also, the results suggested that IPS significantly inhibited HCC cell
proliferation and promoted cell apoptosis. More importantly, marked
anti-tumor growth effects via inhibiting cell proliferation and promoting
tumor cell death were observed in an orthotopic xenograft HCC model.
Therefore, our newly proposed nanotheranostic agent for combined chemotherapeutic
and photodynamic therapy notably improves the therapeutic effect of
sorafenib and has the potential to be a new alternative option for
HCC treatment.
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