Combination-Responsive MoO_3–x-Hybridized Hyaluronic Acid Hollow Nanospheres for Cancer Phototheranostics

Abstract

It is of extreme importance to reduce side effects resulting from the nonspecific uptake of phototherapeutic agents by normal tissues. Currently, the single responsive strategy still cannot entirely satisfy the requirements of practical applications. In this study, we developed one kind of combination-responsive phototherapeutic nanoplatforms, where oxygen-deficient molybdenum oxide (MoO 3−x ) hybridized hyaluronic acid (HA) hollow nanospheres, namely, MoO 3−x @ HA HNSs, were constructed via a facile one-step method. In MoO 3−x @HA HNSs, the reasonable combination of actively targeted specificity endowed by the HA component and tumor microenvironment-responsive phototherapy activity induced by the MoO 3−x component can effectively improve the precision of phototherapy. The in vitro and in vivo experimental results confirm that MoO 3−x @HA HNSs can selectively kill CD44-overexpressing cancer cells and inhibit tumor growth under an 808 nm laser irradiation, revealing their remarkable synergistic photothermal therapy/ photodynamic therapy effect with CD44 receptor-targeted specificity and pH responsiveness in treating cancer. We also prove that MoO 3−x @HA HNSs can serve as one kind of contrast agent to achieve the computed tomography/photoacoustic imaging. Encouraged by these results, it is anticipated that the reasonable combination of active targeting and tumor microenvironment responsiveness can be a promising strategy to develop phototherapeutic nanoplatforms for precise multimodality cancer theranostics.

Insights into the deep-tissue photothermal therapy in near-infrared II region based on tumor-targeted MoO2 nanoaggregates

“…The FT-IR spectrum of MPH is shown in Fig. 1f, where the vibrational modes of the modifiers can be easily noticed [36]. Moreover, the obtained MPH nanoaggregates exhibit significantly improved stability in various physiological solutions, such as PBS, DMEM and FBS, benefiting further applications in the biomedical field ( Fig.…”

Polymer‐Based Solid Electrolytes: Material Selection, Design, and Application

“…Wang et al. [ 67 ] incorporated a triphenylene‐based discotic liquid crystal (DLC) into the flexible poly(ethylene glycol)diacrylate through a facile crosslinking polymerization technique. Macroscopic orientation of DLC in the formed flexible crosslinked PSE was proved by polarized light microscopy and X‐ray diffraction (XRD) measurements, which contributed to the controlled ion conducting channels.…”

Development and application of hyaluronic acid in tumor targeting drug delivery

“…The HA coating considerably increased 4T1 cell uptake, and the IC 50 decreased 1.5 times compared with the drug-loaded MOF without HA coating. Wang et al 61 . fabricated a kind of oxygen-deficient molybdenum oxide (MoO 3 -x)-hybridized HA nanoparticles, which showed CD44-active targeting photothermal therapy accompanied with photoacoustic imaging capacity.…”