Lipid-AuNPs@PDA
Nanohybrid for MRI/CT Imaging and Photothermal Therapy of Hepatocellular
Carcinoma
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Abstract
Multifunctional theranostic nanoparticles
represent an emerging agent with the potential to offer extremely
sensitive diagnosis and targeted cancer therapy. Herein, we report
the synthesis and characterization of a multifunctional theranostic
agent (referred to as LA-LAPNHs) for targeted magnetic resonance imaging/computed
X-ray tomography (MRI/CT) dual-mode imaging and photothermal therapy
of hepatocellular carcinoma. The LA-LAPNHs were characterized as having
a core–shell structure with the gold nanoparticles
(AuNPs)@polydopamine (PDA) as the inner core, the indocyanine green
(ICG), which is electrostatically absorbed onto the surface of PDA,
as the photothermal therapeutic agent, and the lipids modified with
gadolinium–1,4,7,10-tetraacetic acid and lactobionic acid (LA),
which is self-assembled on the outer surface as the shell. The LA-LAPNHs
could be selectively internalized into the hepatocellular cell line
(HepG2 cells) but not into HeLa cells due to the specific recognition
ability of LA to asialoglycoprotein receptor. Additionally, the dual-mode
imaging ability of the LA-LAPNH aqueous solution was confirmed by
enhanced MR and CT imaging showing a shorter <i>T</i><sub>1</sub> relaxation time and a higher Hounsfield unit value, respectively.
In addition, the LA-LAPNHs showed significant photothermal cytotoxicity
against liver cancer cells with near-infrared irradiation due to their
strong absorbance in the region between 700 and 850 nm. In summary,
this study demonstrates that LA-LAPNHs may be a promising candidate
for targeted MR/CT dual-mode imaging and photothermal therapy of hepatocellular
carcinoma