Mitochondria-targeting graphene oxide nanocomposites for fluorescence imaging-guided synergistic phototherapy of drug-resistant osteosarcoma.

BACKGROUND: Osteosarcoma (OS) is the most common primary malignant bone tumor occurring in children and young adults. Drug-resistant osteosarcoma often results in chemotherapy failure. Therefore, new treatments aimed at novel therapeutic targets are urgently needed for the treatment of drug-resistant osteosarcoma. Mitochondria-targeted phototherapy, i.e., synergistic photodynamic/photothermal therapy, has emerged as a highly promising strategy for treating drug-resistant tumors. This study proposed a new nano-drug delivery system based on near-infrared imaging and multifunctional graphene, which can target mitochondria and show synergistic phototherapy, with preferential accumulation in tumors. METHODS AND RESULTS: Based on our previous study, (4-carboxybutyl) triphenyl phosphonium bromide (TPP), a mitochondria-targeting ligand, was conjugated to indocyanine green (ICG)-loaded, polyethylenimine-modified PEGylated nanographene oxide sheets (TPP-PPG@ICG) to promote mitochondrial accumulation after cellular internalization. Thereafter, exposure to a single dose of near-infrared irradiation enabled synergistic photodynamic and photothermal therapy, which simultaneously inhibited adenosine triphosphate synthesis and mitochondrial function. Induction of intrinsic apoptosis assisted in surmounting drug resistance and caused tumor cell death. After fluorescence imaging-guided synergistic phototherapy, the mitochondria-targeting, multifunctional graphene-based, drug-delivery system showed highly selective anticancer efficiency in vitro and in vivo, resulting in marked inhibition of tumor progression without noticeable toxicity in mice bearing doxorubicin-resistant MG63 tumor cells. CONCLUSION: The mitochondria-targeting TPP-PPG@ICG nanocomposite constitutes a new class of nanomedicine for fluorescence imaging-guided synergistic phototherapy and shows promise for treating drug-resistant osteosarcoma.

Multifunctional Photosensitizer Grafted on Polyethylene Glycol and Polyethylenimine Dual-Functionalized Nanographene Oxide for Cancer-Targeted Near-Infrared Imaging and Synergistic Phototherapy.

The integration of photodynamic therapy (PDT) with photothermal therapy (PTT) offers improved efficacy in cancer phototherapy. Herein, a PDT photosensitizer (IR-808) with cancer-targeting ability and near-infrared (NIR) sensitivity was chemically conjugated to both polyethylene glycol (PEG)- and branched polyethylenimine (BPEI)-functionalized nanographene oxide (NGO). Because the optimal laser wavelength (808 nm) of NGO for PTT is consistent with that of IR-808 for PDT, the IR-808-conjugated NGO sheets (NGO-808, 20-50 nm) generated both large amounts of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and local hyperthermia as a result of 808 nm laser irradiation. With PEG- and BPEI-modified NGO as the carrier, the tumor cellular uptake of NGO-808 exhibited higher efficacy than that of strongly hydrophobic free IR-808. Through evaluation with both human and mouse cancer cells, NGO-808 was demonstrated to provide significantly enhanced PDT and PTT effects compared to individual PDT using IR-808 or PTT using NGO. Furthermore, NGO-808 preferentially accumulated in cancer cells as mediated by organic-anion transporting polypeptides (OATPs) overexpressed in many cancer cells, providing the potential for highly specific cancer phototherapy. Using the targeting ability of NGO-808, in vivo NIR fluorescence imaging enabled tumors and their margins to be clearly visualized at 48 h after intravenous injection, providing a theranostic platform for imaging-guided cancer phototherapy. Remarkably, after a single injection of NGO-808 and 808 nm laser irradiation for 5 min, the tumors in two tumor xenograft models were ablated completely, and no tumor recurrence was observed. After treatment with NGO-808, no obvious toxicity was detected in comparison to control groups. Thus, high-performance cancer phototherapy with minimal side effects was afforded from synergistic PDT/PTT treatment and cancer-targeted accumulation of NGO-808.

Photosensitizer-Loaded Branched Polyethylenimine-PEGylated Ceria Nanoparticles for Imaging-Guided Synchronous Photochemotherapy.

A multifunctional theranostic platform based on photosensitizer (chlorin e6, Ce6)-loaded branched polyethylenimine-PEGylated ceria nanoparticles (PPCNPs-Ce6) was created for the development of effective cancer treatments involving the use of imaging-guided synchronous photochemotherapy. PPCNPs-Ce6 with high Ce6 photosensitizer loading (Ce6: cerium ∼40 wt %) significantly enhanced the delivery of Ce6 into cells and its accumulation in lysosomes, remarkably improving photodynamic therapeutic (PDT) efficacy levels compared to those in the administration of free Ce6 at ultralow drug doses (∼200 nM). Interestingly, PPCNPs-Ce6 efficiently induced HeLa cell death even at low concentrations (∼10 µM) without the use of laser irradiation and exhibit chemocytotoxicity. Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) and biology transmission electron microscopy (Bio-TEM) analyses demonstrated that ceria nanoparticles enter cells abundantly and accumulate in lysosomes or large vesicles. We then evaluated the effects of the different materials on lysosomal integrity and function, which revealed that PPCNPs-Ce6 catastrophically impaired lysosomal function compared to results with PPCNPs and Ce6. Studies of apoptosis revealed greater induction of apoptosis by PPCNPs-Ce6 treatment. This multifunctional nanocarrier also exhibited a high degree of solubility and stability in aqueous solutions, suggesting its applicability for extensive biomedical application.

PEGylated ceria nanoparticles used for radioprotection on human liver cells under γ-ray irradiation.

Ceria nanoparticles (CNPs) have recently been shown to protect cells and animals from radiation-induced damage. However, most of the CNPs used in previous studies were either naked or weakly protected by surfactants, which inevitably encounter many obstacles in biological applications. Here, alendronate was used as an ideal anchor to graft polyethylene glycol (PEG) onto CNPs, leading to enhanced stability, reduced cytotoxicity, and improved biological properties. Further investigation assessed the protective ability of the nanoparticles against radiation-induced effects for human normal liver cells (L-02), indicating that the PEGylated CNPs (CNPs-AL-PEG) were more efficient than naked CNPs. We determined that enhanced Ce(3+)/Ce(4+) ratios improved intracellular dispersion and that the ameliorated intracellular distribution of CNPs-AL-PEG contributes to the elevated expression of SOD2, which leads to increased protection of normal cells against ROS and reduces the oxidatively generated DNA damage. These studies hold tremendous promise for radioprotection and biological applications.