Crystals (Sep 2023)

Ultrasonically Prepared Sodium Heparin-Stabilized Indocyanine Green/Nano-Hydroxyapatite Suspension for Collaborative Photodynamic and Photothermal Tumor Therapy

  • Qifa Song,
  • Zi-You Ding,
  • Chengyu Li,
  • Yiran Fan,
  • Xinli Tang,
  • Yingchao Han

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/cryst13091387
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 13, no. 9
p. 1387

Abstract

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Indocyanine green (ICG) shows promise for diagnosing and treating tumors due to its good photothermal and fluorescent properties. In this study, sodium heparin (SH)-stabilized ICG/nano-hydroxyapatite (SH-ICG/nHAP) suspension was ultrasonically prepared to achieve photothermal and photodynamic collaborative therapy (PTT/PDT) for treating tumors. The nHAP had a short rod-like shape and a drug-loading capacity of 13.3% for ICG, corresponding to a drug-loading efficiency of 88.6%. In addition, the SH-ICG/nHAP suspension showed a very low release of ICG in PBS (7.4) and a slightly improved release in acidic buffers (6.5, 5.5), indicating an excellent binding ability of nHAP for ICG. The resulting SH-ICG/nHAP showed good suspension stability. Under an 808 nm near-infrared (NIR) laser, SH-ICG/nHAP showed good photothermal properties and could produce reactive oxygen species (ROS). Under the irradiation of an 808 nm NIR laser at 0.8 W/cm2 for 5 min, SH-ICG/nHAP was found to significantly inhibit HepG2 cells proliferation (78.58%), similar to free ICG. In vivo, SH-ICG/nHAP was found to exert an improved inhibitory effect on tumor growth compared to free ICG. Biocompatible and stable SH-ICG/nHAP suspension like this could be a promising system for the PTT/PDT of tumors.

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