Cascade Release Nanocarriers for the Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Near-Infrared Imaging and Photothermal-Chemo Synergistic Therapy

Abstract

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) has inadequate treatment approaches and a poor prognosis. It is urgent to develop new treatment approaches for TNBC. The combination of photothermal therapy (PTT) and chemotherapy is a very effective potential therapy for TNBC. However, asynchronous accumulation, unclear efficacy, and toxic side effects hinder the further promotion of this method. Therefore, we designed and constructed a new type of nanocarriers, the cascade release near-infrared imaging (NIFI) & thermal-chemo combination nanoparticles (CNC NPs), that can release drugs through the cascade of ultrasound triggering and pH responding to achieve the synchronous tumor accumulation, monitoring and synergistic treatment of two functional molecules. The key material of CNC NPs is the polydopamine (PDA), which, through self-assembling, forms a rigid shell that contains doxorubicin (DOX) and NIF fluorescent dye IR780 on the surface of the perfluorohexane (PFH) microbubbles. The results show that CNC NPs have a hollow core-shell structure with an average particle size of 97.3 ± 27.2 nm and have exceptional colloidal stability and photothermal conversion efficiency. The NPs can effectively perform cascade drug release through ultrasound triggering and pH responding. CNC NPs have good in vivo biological safety and excellent fluorescence imaging, drug delivery, and therapeutic abilities in the TNBC models. These results provide an experimental basis for the development of new clinical treatment methods for TNBC.

Polydopamine/IR820 nanoparticles as topical phototheranostics for inhibiting psoriasiform lesions through dual photothermal and photodynamic treatments

“…Molecules with benzene rings are valid to be loaded in PDA during polymerization. 24 The NIR dye IR820 had benzene groups in its structure, resulting in a high encapsulation of nearly 97%. A minimum zeta potential of ±20 mV is preferable to sustain the electrostatic stabilization of nanoparticles.…”

A Polydopamine-Coated Platinum Nanoplatform for Tumor-Targeted Photothermal Ablation and Migration Inhibition

“…As a promising material for the preparation of multifunctional nanomaterials for cancer treatment, polydopamine (PDA) has attracted more attention in the biomedical field (24)(25)(26). Dopamine is a kind of biomimetic mussel adhesive protein, which can self-polymerize and spontaneously deposit onto various materials under alkaline pH conditions, forming a controllable PDA layer (27,28).…”