Ferritin is a major iron storage protein found in humans and most living organisms. Each ferritin is comprised of 24 subunits, which self-assemble to form a cage-like nanostructure. FRT nanocages can be genetically modified to present a peptide sequence on the surface. Recently, we demonstrated that Cys-Asp-Cys-Arg-Gly-Asp-Cys-Phe-Cys (RGD4C)-modified ferritin can efficiently home to tumors through RGD integrin αvβ3 interaction. Though promising, studies on evaluating surface modified ferritin nanocages as drug delivery vehicles have seldom been reported. Herein we showed that after being pre-complexed with Cu(II), doxorubicin can be loaded onto RGD modified apoferritin nanocages with high efficiency (up to 73.49wt%). When studied on U87MG subcutaneous tumor models, these doxorubicin-loaded ferritin nanocages showed a longer circulation half-life, higher tumor uptake, better tumor growth inhibition, and less cardiotoxicity than free doxorubicin. Such a technology might be extended to load a broad range of therapeutics and holds great potential in clinical translation.

In conventional photostimulable storage phosphors, the optical information written by x-ray or ultraviolet irradiation is usually read out as a visible photostimulated luminescence (PSL) signal under the stimulation of a low-energy light with appropriate wavelength. Unlike the transient PSL, here we report a new optical read-out form, photostimulated persistent luminescence (PSPL) in the near-infrared (NIR), from a Cr3+-doped LiGa5O8 NIR persistent phosphor exhibiting a super-long NIR persistent luminescence of more than 1,000 h. An intense PSPL signal peaking at 716 nm can be repeatedly obtained in a period of more than 1,000 h when an ultraviolet-light (250–360 nm) pre-irradiated LiGa5O8:Cr3+ phosphor is repeatedly stimulated with a visible light or a NIR light. The LiGa5O8:Cr3+ phosphor has promising applications in optical information storage, night-vision surveillance, and in vivo bio-imaging.

Photodynamic therapy is an emerging treatment modality that is under intensive preclinical and clinical investigations for many types of disease including cancer. Despite the promise, there is a lack of a reliable drug delivery vehicle that can transport photosensitizers (PSs) to tumors in a site-specific manner. Previous efforts have been focused on polymer- or liposome-based nanocarriers, which are usually associated with a suboptimal PS loading rate and a large particle size. We report herein that a RGD4C-modified ferritin (RFRT), a protein-based nanoparticle, can serve as a safe and efficient PS vehicle. Zinc hexadecafluorophthalocyanine (ZnF16Pc), a potent PS with a high 1O2 quantum yield but poor water solubility, can be encapsulated into RFRTs with a loading rate as high as ~60 wt % (i.e., 1.5 mg of ZnF16Pc can be loaded on 1 mg of RFRTs), which far exceeds those reported previously. Despite the high loading, the ZnF16Pc-loaded RFRTs (P-RFRTs) show an overall particle size of 18.6 ± 2.6 nm, which is significantly smaller than other PS–nanocarrier conjugates. When tested on U87MG subcutaneous tumor models, P-RFRTs showed a high tumor accumulation rate (tumor-to-normal tissue ratio of 26.82 ±4.07 at 24 h), a good tumor inhibition rate (83.64% on day 12), as well as minimal toxicity to the skin and other major organs. This technology can be extended to deliver other metal-containing PSs and holds great clinical translation potential.

Photodynamic therapy is a promising treatment method, but its applications are limited by the shallow penetration of visible light. Here, we report a novel X-ray inducible photodynamic therapy (X-PDT) approach that allows PDT to be regulated by X-rays. Upon X-ray irradiation, the integrated nanosystem, comprised of a core of a nanoscintillator and a mesoporous silica coating loaded with photosensitizers, converts X-ray photons to visible photons to activate the photosensitizers and cause efficient tumor shrinkage.

Delivery of nanoparticle drugs to tumors relies heavily on the enhanced permeability and retention (EPR) effect. While many consider the effect to be equally effective on all tumors, it varies drastically among the tumors’ origins, stages, and organs, owing much to differences in vessel leakiness. Suboptimal EPR effect represents a major problem in the translation of nanomedicine to the clinic. In the present study, we introduce a photodynamic therapy (PDT)-based EPR enhancement technology. The method uses RGD-modified ferritin (RFRT) as “smart” carriers that site-specifically deliver 1O2 to the tumor endothelium. The photodynamic stimulus can cause permeabilized tumor vessels that facilitate extravasation of nanoparticles at the sites. The method has proven to be safe, selective, and effective. Increased tumor uptake was observed with a wide range of nanoparticles by as much as 20.08-fold. It is expected that the methodology can find wide applications in the area of nanomedicine.

Macrophages hold great potential in cancer drug delivery because they can sense chemotactic cues and home to tumors with high efficiency. However, it remains a challenge to load large amounts of therapeutics into macrophages without compromising cell functions. Here we report a silica-based drug nanocapsule approach to solve this issue. Our nanocapsule consists of a drug-silica complex filling and a solid silica sheath, and it is designed to minimally release drug molecules in the early hours of cell entry. While taken up by macrophages at high rates, the nanocapsules minimally affect cell migration in the first 6–12 h, buying time for macrophages to home to tumors and release drugs in situ. In particular, we show that doxorubicin (Dox) as a representative drug can be loaded into macrophages up to 16.6 pg/cell using this approach. When tested in a U87MG xenograft model, intravenously (i.v.) injected Dox-laden macrophages show comparable tumor accumulation as untreated macrophages. Therapy leads to efficient tumor growth suppression, while causing little systematic toxicity. Our study suggests a new cell platform for selective drug delivery, which can be readily extended to the treatment of other types of diseases.

Nanoprobes for MRI and optical imaging are demonstrated. Gd@C‐dots possess strong fluorescence and can effectively enhance signals on T1‐weighted MR images. The nanoprobes have low toxicity, and, despite a relatively large size, can be efficiently excreted by renal clearance from the host after systemic injection.

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