Polydopamine-Coated Radiolabeled Microspheres for Combinatorial Radioembolization and Photothermal Cancer Therapy.

Transarterial radioembolization (TARE) is a local radionuclide therapy and is successfully used in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) treatment. Radioactive microspheres have been widely studied for TARE. Preparation of ideal radioactive microspheres is significant for clinical research and patient treatment. In this study, we have designed a novel multifunctional microsphere, i.e., polydopamine (PDA)-coated 177 Lu-radiolabeled silica microspheres (MS) denoted as 177 Lu-MS@PDA, which can be used for TARE and photothermal therapy (PTT). The radiostability of 177 Lu-MS@PDA was significantly improved by coating 177 Lu-MS with PDA. In addition, the coating of PDA makes microspheres have excellent photothermal performance. MicroSPECT/CT images showed that 177 Lu-MS@PDA was accurately embolized and remained in the tumor during the observation time. At the time, it also showed that 177 Lu-MS@PDA was very stable in vivo. Furthermore, the anti-tumor results demonstrated that TARE combined with PTT of 177 Lu-MS@PDA can significantly inhibit tumor growth without obvious side effects. 177 Lu-MS@PDA holds great potential as a promising radioactive microsphere for HCC.