Issue 37, 2018

pH/hypoxia programmable triggered cancer photo-chemotherapy based on a semiconducting polymer dot hybridized mesoporous silica framework

Abstract

Although photothermal therapy (PTT) has become a compelling strategy for cancer therapy, few studies concern the physiological consequences of PTT ablation. Herein, we discover that PTT-induced hyperthermia can aggravate tumor hypoxia, which may increase the risk of tumor recurrence and reduce PTT efficacy. We thus integrated the pH/hypoxia-triggered Fe(III)-banoxantrone (AQ4N) prodrug and semiconducting polymer dots (SPs) for programmable triggered cancer photothermal-chemotherapy. A SP-hybridized mesoporous silica framework, decorated by dopamine and polyethylene glycol, named PPMSF, was synthesized by a simple method, and then served as an efficient photo-absorbing agent (PTA) and drug carrier. Fe(III)-AQ4N and Mn(II) were then coordinated with PPMSF (abbreviated Mn-APPMSF) via coordination effects. The nanohybrids exhibited tumor micro-environment pH triggered drug release. Under the irradiation of NIR light, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) tracked the accumulation of the nanohybrids in tumors which then destroyed tumor cells by local hyperthermia, this can consequently aggravate the tumor hypoxia levels. Intriguingly, the aggravated hypoxia can further enhance the reduction of AQ4N to significantly improve therapeutic efficacy and effectively inhibit tumor growth when compared with traditional PTT. These results indicate the potential of our nanohybrids as a programmable synergistic agent for cancer therapy.

Graphical abstract: pH/hypoxia programmable triggered cancer photo-chemotherapy based on a semiconducting polymer dot hybridized mesoporous silica framework

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Edge Article
Submitted
01 Jun 2018
Accepted
25 Jul 2018
First published
27 Jul 2018
This article is Open Access

All publication charges for this article have been paid for by the Royal Society of Chemistry
Creative Commons BY license

Chem. Sci., 2018,9, 7390-7399

pH/hypoxia programmable triggered cancer photo-chemotherapy based on a semiconducting polymer dot hybridized mesoporous silica framework

D. Zhang, Z. Cai, N. Liao, S. Lan, M. Wu, H. Sun, Z. Wei, J. Li and X. Liu, Chem. Sci., 2018, 9, 7390 DOI: 10.1039/C8SC02408A

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licence. You can use material from this article in other publications without requesting further permissions from the RSC, provided that the correct acknowledgement is given.

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