Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Soft Matter Science and Engineering, State Key Laboratory of Organic-Inorganic Composites, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing 100029, China.
Nanoscale. 2017 Aug 10;9(31):11214-11221. doi: 10.1039/c7nr03019c.
In the present study, we devised a green-synthesis route to NaYF:Gd,Yb,Er upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) by using eco-friendly paraffin liquid, instead of 1-octadecene, as a high boiling non-coordinating solvent. A multifunctional nanoplatform was then developed by coating UCNPs with biocompatible transferrin (TRF) for magnetically-assisted and near-infrared light induced photodynamic therapy and bioimaging. Protoporphyrin IX (PpIX), a clinically approved photodynamic therapy agent, was loaded into the shell layer of the TRF-coated UCNPs (UCNP@TRF nanoparticles), which can be efficiently taken up by cancer cells for photodynamic therapy. Upon near-infrared light irradiation, the UCNP@TRF-PpIX nanoparticles could not only kill the cancer cells via photodynamic therapy but also serve as imaging probes. We also demonstrated that an external magnetic field could be used to increase the uptake of UCNP@TRF-PpIX nanoparticles by MDA-MB-231 and HeLa cancer cells, and hence result in an enhanced photodynamic therapy efficiency. This work demonstrates the innovative design and development of high-performance multifunctional PDT agents.
在本研究中，我们设计了一种绿色合成路线，通过使用环保的石蜡液体（而不是 1-十八烯）作为高沸点非配位溶剂，来合成 NaYF:Gd、Yb、Er 上转换纳米粒子（UCNPs）。然后，我们通过用生物相容性转铁蛋白（TRF）包覆 UCNPs，开发了一种多功能纳米平台，用于磁辅助和近红外光诱导的光动力疗法和生物成像。原卟啉 IX（PpIX）是一种临床批准的光动力治疗剂，被装载到 TRF 包覆的 UCNPs（UCNP@TRF 纳米颗粒）的壳层中，它可以被癌细胞有效摄取，用于光动力治疗。在近红外光照射下，UCNP@TRF-PpIX 纳米颗粒不仅可以通过光动力疗法杀死癌细胞，还可以作为成像探针。我们还证明，外磁场可以增加 MDA-MB-231 和 HeLa 癌细胞对 UCNP@TRF-PpIX 纳米颗粒的摄取，从而提高光动力治疗效率。这项工作展示了高性能多功能光动力治疗剂的创新设计和开发。
