Upconversion nanocomposite for programming combination cancer therapy by precise control of microscopic temperature

Abstract

Combinational administration of chemotherapy (CT) and photothermal therapy (PTT) has been widely used to treat cancer. However, the scheduling of CT and PTT and how it will affect the therapeutic efficacy has not been thoroughly investigated. The challenge is to realize the sequence control of these two therapeutic modes. Herein, we design a temperature sensitive upconversion nanocomposite for CT-PTT combination therapy. By monitoring the microscopic temperature of the nanocomposite with upconversion luminescence, photothermal effect can be adjusted to achieve thermally triggered combination therapy with a sequence of CT, followed by PTT. We find that CT administered before PTT results in better therapeutic effect than other administration sequences when the dosages of chemodrug and heat are kept at the same level. This work proposes a programmed method to arrange the process of combination cancer therapy, which takes full advantage of each therapeutic mode and contributes to the development of new cancer therapy strategies.

NIR‐II/III Luminescence Ratiometric Nanothermometry with Phonon‐Tuned Sensitivity

“…The time‐dependent temperature profiles of aqueous Y 2 O 3 : 0.5%Ho 3+ , 1%Er 3+ , 3%Yb 3+ nanospheres excited with different power density indicate that if the quantum yield of nanothermometers is high enough, it is possible to ignore the self‐heating effect, although the quantum yield of our nanothermometers is 4.7% for NIR‐II/III emissions, which is not satisfactory (Figure S15, Supporting Information). Hence, the temperature acquired by the phonon‐based LIR thermometry is higher than the actual temperature (Figure S16, Supporting Information) …”

“…Typically, lanthanide‐based LIR thermometry utilizes two thermal‐coupled energy levels in one lanthanide ion, or temperature‐dependent energy transfer processes between two lanthanide ions (e.g., Eu 3+ and Tb 3+ ions), presenting the empirical exponential or linear growth equation for temperature evaluation . This type of thermometers have superior photostability, narrow band emissions for precise LIR determination, and null autofluorescence in time‐gated detection . Yet, these luminescent thermometers are operating in the visible (VIS) range (400–700 nm), in which light has limited penetration in biological tissues, thus preventing their uses in in vivo …”

Physical Manipulation of Lanthanide‐Activated Photoluminescence

“…In contrast to other types of luminescent materials such as organic fluorescent materials and semiconducting quantum dots, lanthanide-activated luminescence shows distinctive advantages, such as sharp multi-peak emission, large Stokes/anti-Stokes shift, long lifetime, and excellent photostability. [3] The unique luminescent characteristics and energy transfer variety impart lanthanide materials great potentials in a wide range of fields, including but not limited to display and lighting, [4,5] laser, [6] information security, [7][8][9][10] sensing and detection, [11][12][13][14][15] biological imaging and therapy, [16][17][18] photocatalysis, and optoelectronic device. [2] Downshifting and quantum cutting belong to the conventional Stokes process where the emission energy is lower than the excitation energy.…”

Weakening thermal quenching to enhance luminescence of Er3+ doped β‐NaYF4 nanocrystals via acid‐treatment

“…Even after more than several decades of extensive search, rare earth (RE) ions‐doped luminescent nanocrystals (NCs) continue to intrigue research due to its irreplaceable advantages, such as various emission bands and decay lifetime, absence of on‐off blinking and photo‐bleaching, deep excitation penetration, no overlap with cellular autofluorescence, as well as low toxicity, etc . Hence, RE ions‐doped NCs present very broad applications in three‐dimensional display, fluorescence microscopy, nanoscale sensor, security inks, solid state laser, solar cells, and biomedical fields, etc . Among the RE ions‐doped NCs, fluoride compounds with general formula NaReF 4 (Re: Y, Gd, Lu or Sc) because of owning low phonon energy and high chemical stability, have gained more attention .…”

“…[1][2][3][4][5][6] Hence, RE ions-doped NCs present very broad applications in three-dimensional display, fluorescence microscopy, nanoscale sensor, security inks, solid state laser, solar cells, and biomedical fields, etc. [7][8][9][10][11][12][13] Among the RE ions-doped NCs, fluoride compounds with general formula NaReF 4 (Re: Y, Gd, Lu or Sc) because of owning low phonon energy and high chemical stability, have gained more attention. [14][15][16][17] In these fluoride compounds, NaYF 4 with controllable morphology and high radiative emission rates is well-known as one of the most efficient luminescence hosts.…”