NIR‐II Fluorescence Imaging‐Guided Oxygen Self‐Sufficient Nano‐Platform for Precise Enhanced Photodynamic Therapy
Wenling Li, Huan Xin, Yanan Zhang, Chun Feng, Qingdong Li, Dexin Kong, Zefeng Sun, Zhaowei Xu, Jianmin Xiao, Geng Tian, Guilong Zhang, Lu Liu
Abstract
Abstract Tumor hypoxia and systemic toxicity seriously affect the efficacy of photodynamic therapy (PDT) and are considered as the “Achilles’ heel” of PDT. Herein, to combat such limitations, an intelligent orthogonal emissions LDNP@SiO 2 ‐CaO 2 and folic acid‐polyethylene glycol‐Ce6 nanodrug is rationally designed and fabricated not only for relieving the hypoxic tumor microenvironment (TME) to enhance PDT efficacy, but also for determining the optimal triggering time through second near‐infrared (NIR‐II) fluorescence imaging. The designed nanodrug continuously releases a large amount of O 2 , H 2 O 2 , and Ca 2+ ions when exposed to the acidic TME. Meanwhile, under downshifting NIR‐II bioimaging guidance, chlorine e6 (Ce6) consumes oxygen to produce 1 O 2 upon excitation of upconversion photon. Moreover, cytotoxic reactive oxygen species (ROS) and calcium overload can induce mitochondria injury and thus enhance the oxidative stress in tumor cells. As a result, the NIR‐II bioimaging guided TME‐responsive oxygen self‐sufficient PDT nanosystem presents enhanced anti‐tumor efficacy without obvious systemic toxicity. Thus, the fabricated nanodrug offers great potential for designing an accurate cancer theranostic system.