Terpyridine-Grafted Nitrogen-Terminal Endowing Cyanine with Metal-Ion-Regulated Photophysical Properties for Cancer Theranostics
Junfei Zhu,
Gang He,
Peng-Hang Chen,
Yajie Zhang,
Yafei Zhang,
Shan Lei,
Yu Zhang,
Meng Li,
Peng Huang,
Jing Lin
Affiliations
Junfei Zhu
Marshall Laboratory of Biomedical Engineering, International Cancer Center, Laboratory of Evolutionary Theranostics (LET), Guangdong Key Laboratory for Biomedical Measurements and Ultrasound Imaging, School of Biomedical Engineering, Shenzhen University Medical School, Shenzhen 518060, China.
Gang He
Marshall Laboratory of Biomedical Engineering, International Cancer Center, Laboratory of Evolutionary Theranostics (LET), Guangdong Key Laboratory for Biomedical Measurements and Ultrasound Imaging, School of Biomedical Engineering, Shenzhen University Medical School, Shenzhen 518060, China.
Peng-Hang Chen
Marshall Laboratory of Biomedical Engineering, International Cancer Center, Laboratory of Evolutionary Theranostics (LET), Guangdong Key Laboratory for Biomedical Measurements and Ultrasound Imaging, School of Biomedical Engineering, Shenzhen University Medical School, Shenzhen 518060, China.
Yajie Zhang
Marshall Laboratory of Biomedical Engineering, International Cancer Center, Laboratory of Evolutionary Theranostics (LET), Guangdong Key Laboratory for Biomedical Measurements and Ultrasound Imaging, School of Biomedical Engineering, Shenzhen University Medical School, Shenzhen 518060, China.
Yafei Zhang
Marshall Laboratory of Biomedical Engineering, International Cancer Center, Laboratory of Evolutionary Theranostics (LET), Guangdong Key Laboratory for Biomedical Measurements and Ultrasound Imaging, School of Biomedical Engineering, Shenzhen University Medical School, Shenzhen 518060, China.
Shan Lei
Marshall Laboratory of Biomedical Engineering, International Cancer Center, Laboratory of Evolutionary Theranostics (LET), Guangdong Key Laboratory for Biomedical Measurements and Ultrasound Imaging, School of Biomedical Engineering, Shenzhen University Medical School, Shenzhen 518060, China.
Yu Zhang
Marshall Laboratory of Biomedical Engineering, International Cancer Center, Laboratory of Evolutionary Theranostics (LET), Guangdong Key Laboratory for Biomedical Measurements and Ultrasound Imaging, School of Biomedical Engineering, Shenzhen University Medical School, Shenzhen 518060, China.
Meng Li
Marshall Laboratory of Biomedical Engineering, International Cancer Center, Laboratory of Evolutionary Theranostics (LET), Guangdong Key Laboratory for Biomedical Measurements and Ultrasound Imaging, School of Biomedical Engineering, Shenzhen University Medical School, Shenzhen 518060, China.
Peng Huang
Marshall Laboratory of Biomedical Engineering, International Cancer Center, Laboratory of Evolutionary Theranostics (LET), Guangdong Key Laboratory for Biomedical Measurements and Ultrasound Imaging, School of Biomedical Engineering, Shenzhen University Medical School, Shenzhen 518060, China.
Jing Lin
Marshall Laboratory of Biomedical Engineering, International Cancer Center, Laboratory of Evolutionary Theranostics (LET), Guangdong Key Laboratory for Biomedical Measurements and Ultrasound Imaging, School of Biomedical Engineering, Shenzhen University Medical School, Shenzhen 518060, China.
Heptamethine cyanines (Cy7) are one of the most important dyes in bioimaging and phototherapy, but they often suffer from poor photostability or limited photothermal conversion efficiency. Here, a facile molecular engineering approach to regulating the photophysical properties of Cy7 by metal ions is demonstrated. By innovatively modifying the nitrogen with functional groups, a novel terpyridine-grafted nitrogen-terminated Cy7 scaffold (denoted as CydtPy) was synthesized and exhibited tunable photophysical properties when chelating with various metal ions (Mn2+, Fe2+, etc.). In comparison with metal-ion-free PEGylated CydtPy (LET-11), Mn2+-chelated LET-11 (namely, LET-11-Mn) exhibited the increased fluorescence emission intensity, and Fe2+-chelated LET-11 (namely, LET-11-Fe) showed the enhanced photostability with ~2-fold increase in photothermal conversion efficiency. By simply switching the chelated metal ion species, LET-11-Mn or LET-11-Fe could be used for near-infrared fluorescence imaging, magnetic resonance imaging, or photoacoustic imaging. Furthermore, LET-11-Fe displayed superior synergistic efficacy of photothermal therapy and chemodynamic therapy both in vitro and in vivo. This work not only provides a new strategy for regulating the photophysical properties of cyanine dyes but also establishes a versatile nanoplatform for cancer theranostics.
