Key Laboratory of Biomaterials and Nanotechnology for Cancer Immunotherapy, Tianjin Key Laboratory of Biomedical Materials, State Key Laboratory of Advanced Medical Materials and Devices, Institute of Biomedical Engineering, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Tianjin 300192, People's Republic of China.
Nano Lett. 2024 Aug 7;24(31):9561-9568. doi: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.4c02137. Epub 2024 Jul 23.
The perfect integration of microbubbles for efficient ultrasound imaging and nanocarriers for intelligent tumor-targeting delivery remains a challenge in precise tumor theranostics. Herein, we exquisitely fabricated laser-activated and targeted polymersomes (abbreviated as FIP-NPs) for simultaneously encapsulating the photosensitizer indocyanine green (ICG) and the phase change agent perfluorohexane (PFH). The formulated FIP-NPs were nanosize and effectively accumulated into tumors as observed by ICG fluorescence imaging. When the temperature rose above 56 °C, the encapsulated PFH transformed from liquid to gas and the FIP-NPs underwent balloon-like enlargement without structure destruction. Impressively, the enlarged FIP-NPs fused with adjacent polymersomes to form even larger microparticles. This temperature-responsive "nano-to-micro" transformation and fusion process was clearly demonstrated, and FIP-NPs showed greatly improved ultrasound signals. More importantly, FIP-NPs achieved dramatic antitumor efficacy through ICG-mediated phototherapy. Taken together, the novel polymersomes achieved excellent ultrasound/fluorescence dual imaging-guided tumor phototherapy, providing an optimistic candidate for the application of tumor theranostics.
微泡的完美整合对于高效的超声成像以及纳米载体的智能肿瘤靶向输送来说仍然是一个挑战，这对于精确的肿瘤治疗来说至关重要。在此，我们巧妙地制备了激光激活和靶向聚合物囊泡（缩写为 FIP-NPs），用于同时包封光敏剂吲哚菁绿（ICG）和相变剂全氟己烷（PFH）。所制备的 FIP-NPs 纳米尺寸，并且可以通过 ICG 荧光成像观察到有效积聚在肿瘤中。当温度升高到 56°C 以上时，封装的 PFH 从液体转变为气体，FIP-NPs 经历气球样膨胀而不会破坏结构。令人印象深刻的是，膨胀的 FIP-NPs 与相邻的聚合物囊泡融合，形成更大的微粒。这种温度响应的“纳米到微米”的转变和融合过程得到了清晰的证明，FIP-NPs 显示出大大增强的超声信号。更重要的是，FIP-NPs 通过 ICG 介导的光疗实现了显著的抗肿瘤疗效。总之，新型聚合物囊泡实现了出色的超声/荧光双成像引导的肿瘤光疗，为肿瘤治疗提供了一个有前途的候选方案。
