Silver/Iron Oxide Nano-Popcorns for Imaging and Therapy
Ateeque Ur Rehman, Yuao Wu, Huong D. N. Tran, Karla X. Vazquez‐Prada, Yajun Liu, Hossein Adelnia, Nyoman D. Kurniawan, Muhammad Naeem Anjum, Shehzahdi S. Moonshi, Hang T. Ta
Abstract
We have for the first time reported 120 nm silver/iron oxide hybrid nano-popcorns with surface plasmon resonance tuned at near-infrared (NIR) range for imaging and therapeutic applications. The nano-popcorns displayed excellent photothermal thrombolytic effect and anticancer activity in a concentration-dependent manner upon NIR laser irradiation, benefiting the photothermal treatment of thrombosis and cancer. At low concentrations, the nano-popcorns exhibited relatively good reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenging capability. Notably, the nano-popcorns exerted excellent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) T2-signal after being sequestered within cells or binding on the surface of the thrombus, becoming a promising imaging agent for cell labeling and thrombus detection. Cytotoxicity, biodistribution studies, and histology analysis demonstrated no significant toxicity caused by the nano-popcorns. There was no long-term retention of the nano-popcorns in the mouse organs at the dose treated. These results give insight into the potential of using these nano-popcorns for diagnosis and treatment of diseases related to ROS, cancer, and thrombosis.