pH/Reduction Dual Stimuli-Triggered Self-Assembly of NIR Theranostic Probes for Enhanced Dual-Modal Imaging and Photothermal Therapy of Tumors
Anna Wang, Qiulian Mao, Meng Zhao, Shuyue Ye, Jing Fang, Chaoxiang Cui, Yan Zhao, Yuqi Zhang, Yu Zhang, Feng Zhou, Haibin Shi
Abstract
Tumor microenvironment plays a pivotal role in the growth and metastasis of tumors, and has become a promising target for precise diagnosis and treatment of tumors. Herein, a novel smart NIR theranostic probe Cy-1 that can simultaneously respond to low intracellular pH and reductive glutathione (GSH) is reported. This probe has demonstrated to be able to intermolecularly undergo a biologically compatible CBT-Cys condensation reaction to selectively form large nanoaggregates in the tumor microenvironment resulting in its enhanced accumulation and retention in the tumor, which as a consequence significantly improves the sensitivity of NIR/photoacoustic imaging and photothermal therapeutic efficacy of tumors in living mice. We thus believe that this dual stimuli-mediated self-assembly strategy may offer a promising and universal platform for cancer theranostics.