Polypyrrole-based nanotheranostic agent for MRI guided photothermal-chemodynamic synergistic cancer therapy.

Polypyrrole (PPy) nanoparticles have been widely studied in tumor photothermal therapy (PTT) for their significant photostability, good biocompatibility, and excellent photothermal performance. Herein, we report bovine serum albumin (BSA) stabilized PPy that were mineralized by MnO2 nanozyme on the surface (PPy@BSA-MnO2) to achieve synergistic photothermal and chemodynamic therapy (CDT) for breast cancer. In this multifunctional nanoplatform, the surface-loaded MnO2 undergoes a redox reaction with glutathione (GSH) to generate glutathione disulfide (GSSG) and Mn2+. Then, Mn2+ can convert H2O2 into a highly cytotoxic ˙OH to achieve chemodynamic therapy (CDT) and possess good magnetic resonance (MR) T1-weighted imaging capabilities to realize contrast imaging of the 4T1 tumor-bearing mouse models. In addition, PPy nanoparticles can efficiently convert near-infrared light energy into heat and achieve PTT. Most importantly, PPy@BSA-MnO2 nanoprobes have excellent in vitro 4T1 cell-killing effect and in vivo tumor-suppressive properties. The acute toxicity assessment results indicate that PPy@BSA-MnO2 nanoprobes have good biological safety. Therefore, the as-prepared multifunctional PPy@BSA-MnO2 nanoprobes possess excellent performance to promote MRI-guided PTT/CDT synergistic therapy for breast cancer treatment and have extensive clinical transformation and application prospects.

Zn2+ Doped Ultrasmall Prussian Blue Nanotheranostic Agent for Breast Cancer Photothermal Therapy under MR Imaging Guidance.

Prussian blue nanoprobes are widely studied and applied in tumor photothermal therapy (PTT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), due to their low toxicity and excellent in vivo performance. However, the sizes of hitherto reported Prussian blue nanoprobes are generally larger than 50 nm, which greatly influence cell phagocytosis, in vivo circulation, and biodistribution. In this work, a novel method of doping zinc ions is used to control the size of Prussian blue nanoprobes. Consequently, the performances of the nanoprobes in PTT and MRI are both significantly improved. The results show that the minimum size of Prussian blue nanoprobes achieved by doping 10% zinc ions (abbreviated as SPBZn(10%)) is 3.8 ± 0.90 nm, and the maximum specific absorption coefficient, photothermal conversion efficiency, and longitudinal relaxation rates are 1.78 L g-1 cm-1 , 47.33%, and 18.40 mm-1 s-1 , respectively. In addition, the SPBZn(10%) nanoprobes provide excellent PTT efficacy on 4T1 tumor cells (killing rate: 90.3%) and breast cancer model (tumor inhibition rate: 69.4%). Toxicological experiment results show that the SPBZn(n%) nanoprobes exhibit no obvious in vitro cytotoxicity and they can be used safely in mice at doses below 100 mg kg-1 . Therefore, SPBZn(10%) nanoprobes can potentially be used for effective cancer theranostics.