Enhanced photothermal heating and combination therapy of NIR dye via conversion to self-assembled ionic nanomaterials.
Samantha MacchiAmanda JalihalNasrin HooshmandMohd ZubairSamir JenkinsNabeel AlwanMostafa El-SayedNawab AliRobert J GriffinNoureen SirajPublished in: Journal of materials chemistry. B (2022)
Combination nanodrugs are promising therapeutic agents for cancer treatment. However, they often require the use of complex nanovehicles for transportation into the tumor site. Herein, a new class of carrier-free ionic nanomaterials (INMs) is presented, which are self-assembled by the drug molecules themselves. In this regard, a photothermal therapy (PTT) mechanism is combined with a chemotherapy (chemo) mechanism using ionic liquid chemistry to develop a combination drug to deliver multiple cytotoxic mechanisms simultaneously. Nanodrugs were developed from an ionic material-based chemo-PTT combination drug by using a simple reprecipitation method. Detailed examination of the photophysical properties (absorption, fluorescence emission, quantum yield, radiative and non-radiative rate) of the INMs revealed significant spectral changes which are directly related to their therapeutic effect. The reactive oxygen species quantum yield and the light to heat conversion efficiency of the photothermal agents were shown to be enhanced in combination nanomedicines as compared to their respective parent compounds. The ionic nanodrugs exhibited an improved dark and light cytotoxicity in vitro as compared to either the chemotherapeutic or photothermal parent compounds individually, due to a synergistic effect of the combined therapies, improved photophysical properties and their nanoparticles' morphology that enhanced the cellular uptake of the drugs. This study presents a general framework for the development of carrier-free dual-mechanism nanotherapeutics.
Keyphrases
- ionic liquid
- photodynamic therapy
- combination therapy
- cancer therapy
- drug delivery
- drug release
- room temperature
- reactive oxygen species
- solid state
- fluorescence imaging
- molecular dynamics
- locally advanced
- drug induced
- computed tomography
- squamous cell carcinoma
- emergency department
- single molecule
- magnetic resonance
- optical coherence tomography
- highly efficient
- emergency medical