A Self‐Assembled Biocompatible Nanoplatform for Multimodal MR/Fluorescence Imaging Assisted Photothermal Therapy and Prognosis Analysis

Abstract

The need for better imaging assisted cancer therapy calls for new biocompatible agents with excellent imaging and therapeutic capabilities. This study successfully fabricates albumin-cooperated human serum albumin (HSA)-GGD-ICG nanoparticles (NPs), which are comprised of a magnetic resonance (MR) contrast agent, glycyrrhetinic-acid-modified gadolinium (III)-1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane-1,4,7,10-tetraacetate (GGD), and a fluorescence (FL) dye, indocyanine green (ICG), for multimodal MR/FL imaging assisted cancer therapy. These HSA-GGD-ICG NPs with excellent biocompatibility are stable under physiological conditions, and exhibit enhanced T contrast capability and improved fluorescence imaging capacity. In vitro experiments reveal an apparent effect of the NPs in killing tumor cells under low laser irradiation, due to the enhanced photothermal conversion efficiency (≈85.1%). Importantly, multimodal MR/FL imaging clearly shows the in vivo behaviors and the efficiency of tumor accumulation of HSA-GGD-ICG NPs, as confirmed by a pharmacokinetic study. With the guidance of multimodal imaging, photothermal therapy is subsequently conducted, which demonstrates again high photothermal conversion capability for eliminating tumors without relapse. Notably, real-time monitoring of tumor ablation for prognosis and therapy evaluation is also achieved by MR imaging. This strategy of constructing nanoplatforms through albumin-mediated methods is both convenient and efficient, which would enlighten the design of multimodal imaging assisted cancer therapy for potential clinical translation.

Nanoparticle-Based Paramagnetic Contrast Agents for Magnetic Resonance Imaging

“…Very recently, Gd 3+ complexes have been integrated into protein, calcium phosphate, polymeric, gold, and bismuth based nanoparticles. These have been utilised as nanotheranostics tools for multimodal imaging and in cancer therapy but also for the chemical imaging of neurotransmitters [78–83]. In 2018, Gd 2 O 3 nanoparticles were applied to the targeted imaging of integrins for cancer diagnostics, cell labelling studies, and the multimodal imaging of calcium phosphate bone cement [51, 84, 85].…”

Fluorinated Gadolinium Chelate-Grafted Nanoconjugates for Contrast-Enhanced T1-Weighted 1H and pH-Activatable 19F Dual-Modal MRI

“…Therefore, 1 H MRI is capable of generating detailed anatomical images, , which is widely used in research and clinic over years. Moreover, the use of contrast agents (CAs), including Gd 3+ chelates and superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles, − further improves the contrast between lesions and normal tissues and thus increases diagnostic accuracy. However, the high background signals of 1 H nuclei considerably restrict the capacity of 1 H MRI for in vivo tracing of biorelevant molecules, bringing about the search of alternative nuclei for MRI.…”

Natural-Origin Hypocrellin-HSA Assembly for Highly Efficient NIR Light-Responsive Phototheranostics against Hypoxic Tumors

“…As expected, AETHB has a high singlet oxygen ( 1 O 2 ) quantum yield of 0.64. To improve its water solubility for clinical administration, human serum albumin (HSA) has been used as a natural carrier for the photosensitizer owing to its inherent biocompatibility, abundance, and extraordinary binding capacity to a wide variety of drug molecules. − In the present work, we bring two natural-origin materials together to construct assembly materials HSA-AETHB nanoparticles ( HSA-AETHB NPs ) by the hydrophobic molecule-induced HSA self-assembly strategy for phototheranostics (Figure a). The as-prepared HSA-AETHB NPs show a wide absorption in the PDT region, NIR emission peaked at 710 nm, good water solubility, pH and light stability, negligible long-term toxicity, and the advantages of good biocompatibility and stability of photothermal behaviors.…”