Multifunctional croconaine nanoparticles for efficient optoacoustic imaging of deep tumors and photothermal therapy

authored by

Nian Liu, Patrick O'Connor, Vipul Gujrati, Pia Anzenhofer, Uwe Klemm, Karin Kleigrewe, Michael Sattler, Oliver Plettenburg, Vasilis Ntziachristos

Abstract

The proper design of near-infrared light-absorbing agents enables efficient optoacoustic imaging-guided phototherapy. In particular, several croconaine-based organic agents with excellent optical properties have been recently reported for this purpose. However, most of them absorb light below 800 nm, limiting deep-tissue imaging applications. To this end, we utilized a recently described novel croconaine derivative (CR880) to develop CR880-based nanoparticles (CR880-NPs) for effective in vivo delivery, deep tissue optoacoustic imaging and photothermal therapy applications. Radicals and strong π-πstacking in CR880 result in an 880 nm absorption peak with no blue-shift upon condensing to the solid phase. DSPE-PEG2000-formulated CR880-NPs exhibited high optoacoustic generation efficiency and photostability, and could be visualized in the tumors of three different mouse tumor models (breast, brain, and colon tumor) with high image contrast. The high photothermal conversion efficiency of CR880-NPs (∼58%) subsequently enabled efficient in vivo tumor elimination using a low energy laser, while remaining biocompatible and well-tolerated. This work introduces a promising novel agent for cancer theranostics of challenging deep-seated tumors.

Organisation(s)

Centre of Biomolecular Drug Research (BMWZ)

External Organisation(s)

Helmholtz Zentrum München - German Research Center for Environmental Health
Technical University of Munich (TUM)
Zhejiang University

Type

Article

Journal

Nanophotonics

Volume

11

Pages

4637-4647

No. of pages

11

ISSN

2192-8606

Publication date

12.2022

Publication status

Published

Peer reviewed

Yes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Biotechnology, Electronic, Optical and Magnetic Materials, Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics, Electrical and Electronic Engineering

Sustainable Development Goals

SDG 3 - Good Health and Well-being

Electronic version(s)

https://doi.org/10.1515/nanoph-2022-0469 (Access: Open)