Emissive Nanoparticles from Co-assembly of Metallatetragon and Amphiphilic Tetraphenylethylene for Cancer Theranostics.

Platinum(II)-based metallacycles/cages have obtained tremendous attention due to their fascinating topology and wide range of applications, such as fluorescent materials, cell imaging, and tumor treatment. In this work, a metallatetragon ( 1 ) was constructed from 4-(4-(1,2,2-triphenylvinyl)phenyl)pyridine ( 2 ) and 90° cis -Pt(II) ( Pt ) in acetone through the strategy called "coordination driven self-assembly". Interestingly, through co-assembly of 1 and poly(ethylene glycol)-modified tetraphenylethylene ( TPE-PEG 22 ), fluorescent nanotheranostics, which could generate singlet oxygen ( 1 O 2 ) under the NIR irradiation and release Pt drugs under a low-pH microenvironment, were prepared successfully. The obtained theranostics could realize living cell imaging and synergistic chemo-photodynamic therapy in vitro and in vivo .