Search

Perihilar cholangiocarcinoma (PHCC) presents a formidable challenge due to its occult anatomic location, aggressive growth, insensitivity to conventional chemotherapy, and poor prognosis. Herein, we engineered a human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) affibody to the surface of cell membrane nanovesicles (A-NVs) in a ligand-oriented manner and loaded them with indocyanine green (ICG) as precision theranostics for PHCC treatment. The A-NVs@ICG were prepared and exhibited satisfactory targeting effects in HER2-overexpressing PHCC cells. In vivofluorescence and photoacoustic imaging demonstrated that A-NVs@ICG promoted the accumulation of ICG in PHCC tissue, leading to enhanced tumor regression and improved anti-cancer effects when combined with photoirradiation. Therefore, bio-engineered A-NVs@ICG represent a promising nanotheranostic agent for PHCC with potential for clinical translation.

Colloidal nanodiamonds (NDs) have emerged as highly versatile platforms for the controlled delivery of therapeutics, proteins, DNA, and other assorted biological agents. The most common mechanism of drug loading onto the ND surface depends mainly on electrostatic interactions. Although a few reports have been published on using NaCl salt to increase the drug loading onto NDs, no comprehensive mechanistic study with a wide range of anions and cations has been reported. In this work, the Hofmeister effect of inorganic salts and amino acids with different isoelectric points was employed to understand the mechanism of doxorubicin (DOXH+) loading onto NDs with different sizes. Inorganic salts including NaCl, NaNO3, Na2SO4, KCl, CaCl2, (NH4)2SO4and amino acids with an isoelectric point above 7 (positively charged at neutral pH) increase the DOXH+loading onto small size NDs (SNDs, 5–10 nm). On the other hand, amino acids with an isoelectric point below 7 (negatively charged at neutral pH) increase the DOXH+loading onto large size NDs (LNDs, 80–100 nm).