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Facile Synthesis of a Croconaine‐Based Nanoformulation for Optoacoustic Imaging and Photothermal Therapy
Author(s) -
Liu Nian,
O'Connor Patrick,
Gujrati Vipul,
Gorpas Dimitris,
Glasl Sarah,
Blutke Andreas,
Walch Axel,
Kleigrewe Karin,
Sattler Michael,
Plettenburg Oliver,
Ntziachristos Vasilis
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
advanced healthcare materials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.288
H-Index - 90
eISSN - 2192-2659
pISSN - 2192-2640
DOI - 10.1002/adhm.202002115
Subject(s) - photothermal therapy , materials science , biocompatibility , nanotechnology , polyethylene glycol , nanoparticle , biomedical engineering , chemistry , medicine , organic chemistry , metallurgy
Near‐infrared (NIR) light absorbing theranostic agents can integrate optoacoustic imaging and photothermal therapy for effective personalized precision medicine. However, most of these agents face the challenges of unstable optical properties, material‐associated toxicity, and nonbiodegradability, all of which limit their biomedical application. Several croconaine‐based organic agents able to overcome some of these limitations have been recently reported, but these suffer from complicated multistep synthesis protocols. Herein, the use of CR760, a croconaine dye with excellent optical properties, is reported for nanoparticle formulation and subsequent optoacoustic imaging and photothermal therapy. Importantly, CR760 can be conveniently prepared in a single step from commercially available materials. Furthermore, CR760 can be covalently attached, via a polyethylene glycol linker, to the α v β 3 integrin ligand c(RGDyC), resulting in self‐assembled nanoparticles (NPs) with cancer‐targeting capability. Such CR760RGD‐NPs exhibit strong NIR absorption, high photostability, high optoacoustic generation efficiency, and active tumor‐targeting, making them ideal candidates for optoacoustic imaging. Due to favorable electron transfer, CR760RGD‐NPs display a 45.37% photothermal conversion efficiency thereby rendering them additionally useful for photothermal therapy. Targeted tumor elimination, biosafety, and biocompatibility are demonstrated in a 4T1 murine breast tumor model. This work points to the use of CR760RGD‐NPs as a promising nanoagent for NIR‐based cancer phototheranostics.