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ZnO‐Functionalized Upconverting Nanotheranostic Agent: Multi‐Modality Imaging‐Guided Chemotherapy with On‐Demand Drug Release Triggered by pH
Author(s) -
Wang Yinghui,
Song Shuyan,
Liu Jianhua,
Liu Dapeng,
Zhang Hongjie
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
angewandte chemie
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1521-3757
pISSN - 0044-8249
DOI - 10.1002/ange.201409519
Subject(s) - magnetic resonance imaging , modality (human–computer interaction) , drug , nanotechnology , drug delivery , imaging agent , materials science , medicine , computer science , radiology , pharmacology , microbiology and biotechnology , biology , in vivo , human–computer interaction
Limited therapeutic efficiency and severe side effects in patients are two major issues existing in current chemotherapy of cancers in clinic. To design a proper theranostic platform seems thus quite needed to target cancer cells accurately by bioimaging and simultaneously release drugs on demand without premature leakage. A novel ZnO‐functionalized upconverting nanotheranostic platform has been fabricated for clear multi‐modality bioimaging (upconversion luminescence (UCL), computed tomography (CT), and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)) and specific pH‐triggered on‐demand drug release. In our theranostic platform multi‐modality imaging provides much more detailed and exact information for cancer diagnosis than single‐modality imaging. In addition, ZnO can play the role of a “gatekeeper” to efficiently block the drug in the mesopores of the as‐prepared agents until it is dissolved in the acidic environment around tumors to realize sustained release of the drug. More importantly, the biodegradable ZnO, which is non‐toxic against normal tissues, endows the as‐prepared agents with high therapeutic effectiveness but very low side effects. These findings are of great interests and will inspire us much to develop novel effective imaging‐guided on‐demand chemotherapies in cancer treatment.