Theranostics 2016; 6(11):1833-1843. doi:10.7150/thno.16047 This issue Cite
Research Paper
1. Department of Pediatric Research, Children's Hospital affiliated to Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu 215123, China
2. Institute of Functional Nano & Soft Materials (FUNSOM), Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Carbon-Based Functional Materials & Devices, Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu 215123, China
3. School of Radiation Medicine and Protection & School for Radiological and Interdisciplinary Sciences (RAD-X), Collaborative Innovation Center of Radiation Medicine of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions, Medical College of Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu 215123, China
* These authors contributed equally to this work.
Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) with various unique properties have attracted great attention in cancer theranostics. Herein, SWNTs are coated with a shell of polydopamine (PDA), which is further modified by polyethylene glycol (PEG). The PDA shell in the obtained SWNT@PDA-PEG could chelate Mn2+, which together with metallic nanoparticulate impurities anchored on SWNTs offer enhanced both T1 and T2 contrasts under magnetic resonance (MR) imaging. Meanwhile, also utilizing the PDA shell, radionuclide 131I could be easily labeled onto SWNT@PDA-PEG, enabling nuclear imaging and radioisotope cancer therapy. As revealed by MR & gamma imaging, efficient tumor accumulation of SWNT@PDA-131I-PEG is observed after systemic administration into mice. By further utilizing the strong near-infarared (NIR) absorbance of SWNTs, NIR-triggered photothermal therapy in combination with 131I-based radioisotope therapy is realized in our animal experiments, in which a remarkable synergistic antitumor therapeutic effect is observed compared to monotherapies. Our work not only presents a new type of theranostic nanoplatform based on SWNTs, but also suggests the promise of PDA coating as a general approach to modify nano-agents and endow them with highly integrated functionalities.
Keywords: Single-walled carbon nanotubes, Polydopamine, Multimodal imaging, Radiolabeling, Combined therapy