pH-Responsive Upconversion Mesoporous Silica Nanospheres for Combined Multimodal Diagnostic Imaging and Targeted Photodynamic and Photothermal Cancer Therapy

L. Palanikumar, Mona Kalmouni, Tatiana Houhou, Osama Abdullah, Liaqat Ali, Renu Pasricha, Rainer Straubinger, Sneha Thomas, Ahmed Jawaad Afzal, Francisco N. Barrera, Mazin Magzoub

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) and photothermal therapy (PTT) have gained considerable attention as potential alternatives to conventional cancer treatments. However, these approaches remain limited by low solubility, poor stability, and inefficient targeting of many common photosensitizers (PSs) and photothermal agents (PTAs). To overcome the aforementioned limitations, we engineered biocompatible and biodegradable tumor-targeted upconversion nanospheres with imaging capabilities. The multifunctional nanospheres consist of a sodium yttrium fluoride core doped with lanthanides (ytterbium, erbium, and gadolinium) and the PTA bismuth selenide (NaYF4:Yb/Er/Gd,Bi2Se3) enveloped in a mesoporous silica shell that encapsulates a PS, chlorin e6 (Ce6), within its pores. NaYF4:Yb/Er converts deeply penetrating near-infrared (NIR) light to visible light, which excites Ce6 to generate cytotoxic reactive oxygen species (ROS), while Bi2Se3 efficiently converts absorbed NIR light to heat. Additionally, Gd enables magnetic resonance imaging of the nanospheres. The mesoporous silica shell is coated with DPPC/cholesterol/DSPE-PEG to retain the encapsulated Ce6 and prevent serum protein adsorption and macrophage recognition that hinder tumor targeting. Finally, the coat is conjugated to the acidity-triggered rational membrane (ATRAM) peptide, which promotes specific and efficient internalization into malignant cells in the mildly acidic microenvironment of tumors. The nanospheres facilitated tumor magnetic resonance and thermal and fluorescence imaging and exhibited potent NIR laser light-induced anticancer effects in vitro and in vivo via combined ROS production and localized hyperthermia, with negligible toxicity to healthy tissue, hence markedly extending survival. Our results demonstrate that the ATRAM-functionalized, lipid/PEG-coated upconversion mesoporous silica nanospheres (ALUMSNs) offer multimodal diagnostic imaging and targeted combinatorial cancer therapy.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)18979-18999
Number of pages21
JournalACS nano
Volume17
Issue number19
DOIs
StatePublished - Oct 10 2023

Keywords

  • cancer therapy
  • diagnostic imaging
  • mesoporous silica
  • near-infrared light
  • photodynamic therapy
  • photothermal therapy
  • upconversion

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Materials Science
  • General Engineering
  • General Physics and Astronomy

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