title: Inorganic photosensitizer coupled Gd-based upconversion luminescent nanocomposites for in vivo magnetic resonance imaging and near-infrared-responsive photodynamic therapy in cancers.
abstract: Inorganic photosensitizer coupled Gd-based upconversion luminescent (UCL) nanocomposites have potential application for both magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and photodynamic therapy (PDT) of cancers using the light stability and biocompatibility of TiO2 inorganic photosensitizer. However, TiO2 inorganic photosensitizer could only be excited by ultraviolet (UV) light, which was harmful and weakly penetrable in tissues. In this work, folic acid (FA)-targeted NaGdF4:Yb/Tm@SiO2@TiO2 nanocomposites (FA-Gd-Si-Ti NPs) were constructed and synthesized for both in vivo MRI and near infrared (NIR)-responsive inorganic PDT, in which TiO2 component could be excited by NIR light due to the UCL performance of NaGdF4:Yb/Tm component converting NIR to UV light. The results showed the as-prepared FA-Gd-Si-Ti NPs had good biocompatibility in vitro and in vivo. Moreover, MR study indicated that FA-Gd-Si-Ti NPs were good T1-weighted MRI contrast agents with high longitudinal relaxivity (r1) of 4.53 mm(-1) s(-1), also in vivo MRI of nude mice showed "bright" signal in MCF-7 tumor. Under the irradiation of 980 nm laser at the power density of 0.6 W/cm(2) for 20 min, the viability of HeLa and MCF-7 cells incubated with FA-Gd-Si-Ti NPs could decrease from about 90 % to 35 % and 31%, respectively. Furthermore, in vivo PDT of MCF-7 tumor-bearing nude mice model showed that the inhibition ratio of tumors injected with FA-Gd-Si-Ti NPs reached up to 88.6% after 2-week treatment, compared with that of nude mice in control group. Based on the deep penetration of NIR light and the good biocompatibility of TiO2 inorganic photosensitizer, the as-prepared FA-Gd-Si-Ti NPs could have potential applications in both MRI and NIR-responsive PDT of cancers in deep tissues.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Magnetic Materials and Devices & Division of Functional Materials and Nanodevices, Ningbo Institute of Material Technology and Engineering, Ningbo 315201, PR China; The School of Materials Science and Chemical Engineering, Ningbo University, Ningbo 315211, PR China.
authors.forename: Ling'e
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Magnetic Materials and Devices & Division of Functional Materials and Nanodevices, Ningbo Institute of Material Technology and Engineering, Ningbo 315201, PR China; Department of Medical Imaging, Jinling Hospital, School of Medicine, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210002, PR China. Electronic address: zengly@nimte.ac.cn.
authors.forename: Leyong
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zeng
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Magnetic Materials and Devices & Division of Functional Materials and Nanodevices, Ningbo Institute of Material Technology and Engineering, Ningbo 315201, PR China.
authors.forename: Yuanwei
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Pan
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Imaging, Jinling Hospital, School of Medicine, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210002, PR China.
authors.forename: Song
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Luo
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Magnetic Materials and Devices & Division of Functional Materials and Nanodevices, Ningbo Institute of Material Technology and Engineering, Ningbo 315201, PR China.
authors.forename: Wenzhi
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Ren
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Magnetic Materials and Devices & Division of Functional Materials and Nanodevices, Ningbo Institute of Material Technology and Engineering, Ningbo 315201, PR China.
authors.forename: An
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gong
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Magnetic Materials and Devices & Division of Functional Materials and Nanodevices, Ningbo Institute of Material Technology and Engineering, Ningbo 315201, PR China.
authors.forename: Xuehua
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.affiliation: The School of Materials Science and Chemical Engineering, Ningbo University, Ningbo 315211, PR China.
authors.forename: Hongze
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Liang
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Imaging, Jinling Hospital, School of Medicine, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210002, PR China; State Key Laboratory of Analytical Chemistry for Life Science, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, PR China. Electronic address: cjr.luguangming@vip.163.com.
authors.forename: Guangming
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Magnetic Materials and Devices & Division of Functional Materials and Nanodevices, Ningbo Institute of Material Technology and Engineering, Ningbo 315201, PR China. Electronic address: aiguo@nimte.ac.cn.
authors.forename: Aiguo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Wu
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D016923:Cell Death / Q000187:drug effects; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects; D005260:Female; D005492:Folic Acid / Q000494:pharmacology; D005682:Gadolinium / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006367:HeLa Cells; D006801:Humans; D049449:Luminescence; D061986:MCF-7 Cells; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D051379:Mice; D008819:Mice, Nude; D053761:Nanocomposites / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology; D010778:Photochemotherapy; D017319:Photosensitizing Agents / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D012542:Scattering, Radiation; D012822:Silicon Dioxide; D019265:Spectroscopy, Near-Infrared; D055672:Static Electricity; D014025:Titanium; D014961:X-Ray Diffraction
chemical_list: D017319:Photosensitizing Agents; C507641:TiO2-SiO2; D012822:Silicon Dioxide; D005492:Folic Acid; D005682:Gadolinium; D014025:Titanium
keywords: Gd-based upconversion luminescence; Magnetic resonance imaging; Near-infrared-responsive photodynamic therapy; TiO(2) inorganic photosensitizer