International Journal of Nanomedicine (May 2018)

Near-infrared light-mediated photodynamic/photothermal therapy nanoplatform by the assembly of Fe3O4 carbon dots with graphitic black phosphorus quantum dots

  • Zhang M,
  • Wang W,
  • Cui Y,
  • Zhou N,
  • Shen J

Journal volume & issue
Vol. Volume 13
pp. 2803 – 2819

Abstract

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Ming Zhang,1,2 Wentao Wang,3 Yingjun Cui,2 Ninglin Zhou,1,4 Jian Shen1 1College of Chemistry and Materials Science, Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center for Biological Functional Materials, Jiangsu Engineering Research, Center for Biomedical Function Materials, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China; 2Department of Biological Sciences, Florida International University, Miami, FL, USA; 3Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Molecular and Medical Biotechnology, College of Life Sciences, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China; 4Faculty of Materials Development, Nanjing Zhou Ninglin Advanced Materials Technology Company Limited, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China Background: Recently, combined photodynamic therapy (PDT) and photothermal therapy (PTT) has become a desired treatment for cancer. However, the development of economic, high-efficiency, and safe photosensitizers/photothermal agents remains a significant challenge.Methods: A novel nanocomposite has been developed via the assembly of iron oxide carbon dot (Fe3O4-CDs) nanoparticles and black phosphorus quantum dots (genipin [GP]-polyglutamic acid [PGA]-Fe3O4-CDs@BPQDs), and this nanocomposite shows a broad light-absorption band and a photodegradable character.Results: In vitro and in vivo assays indicated that GP-PGA-Fe3O4-CDs@BPQDs were highly biocompatible and exhibited excellent tumor-inhibition efficacy, due to the synergistic PTT and PDT via a near-infrared laser. Importantly, in vivo tumor magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) results illustrated that GP-PGA-Fe3O4-CDs@BPQDs can be specifically applied for enhanced T2 MRI of tumors. This work presents the first combined application of a PDT and PTT effect deriving from BPQDs and MRI from Fe3O4-CDs, which may promote utilization of black BPQDs in biomedicine.Conclusion: As expected, GP-PGA-Fe3O4-CDs@BPQDs displayed a dramatically enhanced ability to destroy tumor cells, due to the synergistic combination of PTT and PDT. Keywords: black phosphorus quantum dots, biocompatible, photothermal, photodynamic, T2 MRI

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