1. Albumin-mediated molecular competition of supramolecular photosensitizers for NIR-II imaging-guided phototherapy.
- Author
-
Mu, Xueluer, Li, Yajie, Zhai, Manyu, Gao, Min, Feng, Wenbi, Han, Xiaoyun, Wang, Yukun, Lu, Yingxi, and Zhou, Xianfeng
- Subjects
- *
FLUORESCENCE yield , *SENTINEL lymph nodes , *PHOTOTHERAPY , *REACTIVE oxygen species , *CONJUGATED polymers , *ENERGY transfer - Abstract
Heptamethine cyanines (Cy7) typically exhibit strong near-infrared (NIR) fluorescence signals when in monodisperse states, but their distinctive π-conjugated structure leads to limited solubility in aqueous solutions, ultimately resulting in inherent fluorescence self-quenching. Enhancing the fluorescence quantum yield of these agents within aqueous environments, in order to achieve high-resolution biological imaging, presents a significant challenge. Herein, a benzothiazole-based Cy7-derivative (Cy7-BTH) is developed, exhibiting unique H-aggregation properties in aqueous solutions. Bovine serum albumin (BSA) binds to Cy7-BTH (BSA@Cy7-BTH) to modulate its molecular stacking and energy transfer, boosting its fluorescence accompanied by bright NIR-II tail emission. The competitive binding alters the planarity of Cy7-BTH, restricting its intramolecular rotation, and simutaneously changes the conformation of BSA, leading to BSA@Cy7-BTH aggregation to form hierarchical-structured nanoparticles. Notably, the BSA@Cy7-BTH nanoparticles significantly enhanced photothermal response of Cy7-BTH while maintaining its controlled reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation, offering NIR-II imaging-guided surgical removal of primary tumors, and simultaneously inhibiting cancer cell metastasis by synergistic PDT/PTT dissection of metastatic tumor cells in sentinel lymph nodes (SLNs). This study provides an innovative but facile strategy for their potential clinical applications by precisely regulating the intermolecular competitive interactions of NIR theranostic agents. [Display omitted] • A molecular competition-based supramolecular strategy was proposed for high SNR imaging. • BSA binds to Cy7-BTH (BSA@Cy7-BTH) to modulate its molecular stacking and energy transfer. • BSA@Cy7-BTH offers NIR-II imaging-guided surgical removal of primary tumors. • Metastatic tumor cells in SLNs were dissected by synergistic PDT/PTT without side effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2024
- Full Text
- View/download PDF