Janus Silver/Silica Nanoplatforms for Light-Activated Liver Cancer Chemo/Photothermal Therapy

Stimuli-triggered nanoplatforms have become attractive candidates for combined strategies for advanced liver cancer treatment. In this study, we designed a light-responsive nanoplatform with folic acid-targeting properties to surmount the poor aqueous stability and photostability of indocyanine green (ICG). In this Janus nanostructure, ICG was released on-demand from mesoporous silica compartments in response to near-infrared (NIR) irradiation, exhibiting predominant properties to convert light to heat in the cytoplasm to kill liver cancer cells. Importantly, the silver ions released from the silver compartment that were triggered by light could induce efficient chemotherapy to supplement photothermal therapy. Under NIR irradiation, ICG-loaded Janus nanoplatforms exhibited synergistic therapeutic capabilities both in vitro and in vivo compared with free ICG and ICG-loaded mesoporous silica nanoparticles themselves. Hence, our Janus nanoplatform could integrate ICG-based photothermal therapy and silver ion-based chemotherapy in a cascade manner, which might provide an efficient and safe strategy for combined liver cancer therapy

Janus Gold Nanoplatform for Synergetic Chemoradiotherapy and Computed Tomography Imaging of Hepatocellular Carcinoma

There is a pressing need to develop nanoplatforms that integrate multimodal therapeutics to improve treatment responses and prolong the survival of patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Mesoporous silica-coated gold nanomaterials have emerged as a novel multifunctional platform combining tunable surface plasmon resonance and mesoporous properties that exhibit multimodality properties in cancer theranostics. However, their reduced radiation-absorption efficiency and limited surface area hinder their further radiochemotherapeutic applications. To address these issues, we designed Janus-structured gold-mesoporous silica nanoparticles using a modified sol–gel method. This multifunctional theranostic nanoplatform was subsequently modified <i>via</i> the conjugation of folic acid for enhanced HCC targeting and internalization. The loaded anticancer agent doxorubicin can be released from the mesopores in a pH-responsive manner, facilitating selective and safe chemotherapy. Additionally, the combination of chemotherapy and radiotherapy induced synergistic anticancer effects <i>in vitro</i> and exhibited remarkable inhibition of tumor growth <i>in vivo</i> along with significantly reduced systematic toxicity. Additionally, the Janus NPs acted as targeted computed tomography (CT)-imaging agents for HCC diagnosis. Given their better performance in chemoradiotherapy and CT imaging as compared with that of their core–shell counterparts, this new nanoplatform designed with dual functionalities provides a promising strategy for unresectable HCC theranostics

Shape Engineering Boosts Magnetic Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticle-Based Isolation and Detection of Circulating Tumor Cells

Magnetic mesoporous silica nanoparticles (M-MSNs) are attractive candidates for the immunomagnetic isolation and detection of circulating tumor cells (CTCs). Understanding of the interactions between the effects of the shape of M-MSNs and CTCs is crucial to maximize the binding capacity and capture efficiency as well as to facilitate the sensitivity and efficiency of detection. In this work, fluorescent M-MSNs were rationally designed with sphere and rod morphologies while retaining their robust fluorescence and uniform surface functionality. After conjugation with the antibody of epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM), both of the differently shaped M-MSNs-EpCAM obtained achieved efficient enrichment of CTCs and fluorescent-based detection. Importantly, rodlike M-MSNs exhibited faster immunomagnetic isolation as well as better performance in the isolation and detection of CTCs in spiked cells and real clinical blood samples than those of their spherelike counterparts. Our results showed that shape engineering contributes positively toward immunomagnetic isolation, which might open new avenues to the rational design of magnetic-fluorescent nanoprobes for the sensitive and efficient isolation and detection of CTCs