Self‐Assembled Carrier‐Free Nanodrugs for Starvation Therapy‐Amplified Photodynamic Therapy of Cancer

Abstract

Traditional starvation treatment strategies, which involve glucose oxidase and drug‐induced thrombi, often suffer from aggravated tumor hypoxia and have failed to improve antitumor efficacy in combination with oxygen‐dependent photodynamic therapy (PDT). Herein, glucose transporter 1 inhibitor genistein (Gen) and photosensitizer chlorin e6 (Ce6) are integrated to construct carrier‐free self‐assembled nanoparticles defined as GC NPs, for starvation therapy‐amplified PDT of tumor. GC NPs with regular morphology and stability are screened out by component adjustment, while the function of each component is preserved. On the one hand, Gen released from GC NPs can cut off tumor glucose uptake by inhibiting the glucose transporter 1 to restrict tumor growth, achieving starvation therapy. On the other hand, they are able to decrease the amount of oxygen consumed by tumor respiration and amplify the therapeutic effect of PDT. In vitro and in vivo experiments verify the excellent synergistic antitumor therapeutic efficacy of GC NPs without any apparent toxicity. Moreover, fluorescence and photoacoustic imaging provide guidance for in vivo PDT, demonstrating the excellent tumor enrichment efficiency of GC NPs. It is believed that this starvation therapy‐amplified PDT strategy by carrier‐free self‐assembled GC NPs holds promising clinical prospects.

Carrier-free Nanodrug for the Chemical-Photodynamic Synergistic Treatment of Lung Cancer

“…The d17–Ce6 NPs were stable in pure water and 1640 containing 10% FBS, and the particle size did not change significantly within 7 days (Figure H). In addition, the zeta potential of d17–Ce6 NPs was roughly −33 mV, which could inhibit their interaction with proteins in the blood . Furthermore, the polydispersity index (PDI) of d17–Ce6 NPs in the aqueous solution have showed negligible change (Figure I), which suggested the agreeable dispersity and steadiness of the prepared d17–Ce6 NPs.…”

Design of a Nanodelivery System with High Loading Efficiency by Improving π‐π Interactions with Drugs

“…NaCl, urea, and Sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) were used as inhibitors of electrostatic interactions, intermolecular hydrogen bonding, and hydrophobic effects, respectively, with H 2 O serving as a comparison. [49] NaCl dissociates into Na + and Cl-in solution, which can form ion pairs with charged molecules and reduce the interaction forces between charged molecules. Urea can form hydrogen bonds with water molecules, preventing the formation of hydrogen bonds between large molecules and water molecules.…”

Advances and perspectives in phototherapy-based combination therapy for cancer treatment

“…The results indicated that GC showed an excellent antitumor effect. 144 Table 6 lists various combination phototherapies with ST for tumor treatment. These therapies have been demonstrated to improve anticancer effects compared with phototherapy or ST alone.…”