RESUMO
Acoustic kinetic therapy systems that target specific organelles can improve the precision of a sonosensitizer, which is a perfect combination of targeted therapy and sonodynamic therapy (SDT) and plays an important role in current acoustic kinetic therapy. In this study, we loaded PpIX, a sonosensitizer, on targeted-functional carbon dots (CDs) via an amide reaction and then generated the mitochondria-targeted system (Mit-CDs-PpIX) and nucleus-targeted system (Nuc-CDs-PpIX), respectively, to deliver the sonosensitizer. Both systems exhibited minimal cytotoxicity in the absence of ultrasound stimulation. The efficacy of the targeted SDT systems was investigated using methylthiazol tetrazolium (MTT) assays, live/dead staining, flow cytometry, etc. Compared with the free PpIX and mitochondria-targeted system, the nucleus-targeted system is more potent in killing effect under ultrasound stimulation and induces apoptosis with higher intensity. To achieve the equal killing effect, the effective concentration of Nuc-CDs-PpIX is just one third of that of Mit-CDs-PpIX.