Pt-Se-Bonded Nanoprobe for High-Fidelity Detection of Non-small Cell Lung Cancer and Enhancement of NIR II Photothermal Therapy.

Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) accounts for a high proportion of lung cancer cases globally, but early detection remains challenging, and insufficient oxygen supply at tumor sites leads to suboptimal treatment outcomes. Therefore, the development of core-shell Au@Pt-Se nanoprobes (Au@Pt-Se NPs) with peptide chains linked through Pt-Se bonds was designed and synthesized for NSCLC biomarker protein calcium-activated neutral protease 2 (CAPN2) and photothermal therapy (PTT) enhancement. The NP can be specifically cleaved by CAPN2, resulting in fluorescence recovery to realize the detection. The Pt-Se bonds exhibit excellent resistance to biologically abundant thiols such as glutathione, thus avoiding "false-positive" results and enabling precise detection of NSCLC. Additionally, the platinum (Pt) shell possesses catalase-like properties that catalyze the generation of oxygen from endogenous hydrogen peroxide within the tumor, thereby reducing hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) levels and alleviating the hypoxic environment at the tumor site. The Au@Pt-Se NPs exhibit strong absorption bands, enabling the possibility of PTT in the near-infrared II region (NIR II). This study presents an effective approach for the early detection of NSCLC while also serving as an oxygen supplier to alleviate the hypoxic environment and enhance NIR II PTT.

Au-Se bonded nanoprobe for prostate specific antigen detection in serum.

The detection of prostate specific antigen (PSA) in serum can realize early diagnosis of prostate cancer and prevent the occurrence of prostate tumors, as well as offering guidance during the therapy. Herein, a Au-Se bonded nanoprobes that can specifically detect PSA was designed and constructed. The peptide chains that can be specifically cleaved by PSA were firstly functionalized with fluorescent dye and selenol, and then bind to the Au nanoparticles to produce the probe. The dye's fluorescence was quenched due to the FRET effect, but recovered by PSA's cutting. The nanoprobe can detect PSA in serum with extraordinary anti-interference ability against other proteins (detection range 1-40 ng/mL). This work provides a new method for the detection of PSA in serum, and has potential guiding significance for clinical PSA detection.