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Acid‐Activatable Transmorphic Peptide‐Based Nanomaterials for Photodynamic Therapy
Author(s) -
Sun Bingbing,
Chang Rui,
Cao Shoupeng,
Yuan Chengqian,
Zhao Luyang,
Yang Haowen,
Li Junbai,
Yan Xuehai,
Hest Jan C. M.
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
angewandte chemie
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1521-3757
pISSN - 0044-8249
DOI - 10.1002/ange.202008708
Subject(s) - photodynamic therapy , singlet oxygen , peptide , chemistry , nanoparticle , nanomaterials , porphyrin , biophysics , nanotechnology , materials science , photochemistry , biochemistry , organic chemistry , oxygen , biology
Inspired by the dynamic morphology control of molecular assemblies in biological systems, we have developed pH‐responsive transformable peptide‐based nanoparticles for photodynamic therapy (PDT) with prolonged tumor retention times. The self‐assembled peptide–porphyrin nanoparticles transformed into nanofibers when exposed to the acidic tumor microenvironment, which was mainly driven by enhanced intermolecular hydrogen bond formation between the protonated molecules. The nanoparticle transformation into fibrils improved their singlet oxygen generation ability and enabled high accumulation and long‐term retention at tumor sites. Strong fluorescent signals of these nanomaterials were detected in tumor tissue up to 7 days after administration. Moreover, the peptide assemblies exhibited excellent anti‐tumor efficacy via PDT in vivo. This in situ fibrillar transformation strategy could be utilized to design effective stimuli‐responsive biomaterials for long‐term imaging and therapy.