title: Ultrasmall Chitosan-Genipin Nanocarriers Fabricated from Reverse Microemulsion Process for Tumor Photothermal Therapy in Mice.
abstract: Nanocarriers play an important role in improving the photo- and thermal-stability of photosensitizers to gain better pharmacokinetics behavior in tumor photothermal therapy. Herein, PEGylated chitosan (CG-PEG; PEG: polyethylene glycol) nanoparticles with ultrasmall size (∼5 nm) were prepared through a water-in-oil reverse microemulsion method using genipin as a cross-linker. Particle size and zeta-potential can be tuned by varying the molar ratio between chitosan amino groups and genipin. CG-PEG-ICG (ICG: indocyanine green) nanoparticles were fabricated by adding ICG to CG-PEG aqueous solution through a self-assembly method via electrostatic interaction. The resultant CG-PEG-ICG nanoparticles exhibited improved photo- and thermal-stability, good biocompatibility, and low toxicity. When irradiated with a laser, the cells incubated with CG-PEG-ICG nanoparticles showed very low cell viability (15%), indicating the CG-PEG-ICG nanoparticles possess high in vitro photothermal toxicity. Moreover, the CG-PEG nanocarriers can significantly alter the biodistribution and prolong the retention time of ICG in the mice body after intravenous injection. In vivo photothermal study of tumors injected with CG-PEG-ICG nanoparticles containing ICG at a concentration greater than 100 μg·mL(-1) (100 μL) induced irreversible tissue damage. The growth of U87 tumors was dramatically inhibited by CG-PEG-ICG nanoparticles, demonstrating that the CG-PEG nanoparticles may act as potential ICG nanocarriers for effective in vivo tumor photothermal therapy.
authors.affiliation: †Division of Biotechnology, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 457 Zhongshan Road, Dalian 116023, China.|‡University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.
authors.forename: Xiaojie
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Song
authors.affiliation: †Division of Biotechnology, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 457 Zhongshan Road, Dalian 116023, China.|‡University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.
authors.forename: Hao
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: †Division of Biotechnology, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 457 Zhongshan Road, Dalian 116023, China.|‡University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.
authors.forename: Shen
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: †Division of Biotechnology, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 457 Zhongshan Road, Dalian 116023, China.|‡University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.
authors.forename: Yanfang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: †Division of Biotechnology, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 457 Zhongshan Road, Dalian 116023, China.
authors.forename: Xiaojun
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.affiliation: †Division of Biotechnology, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 457 Zhongshan Road, Dalian 116023, China.
authors.forename: Mingqian
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tan
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D049109:Cell Proliferation / Q000528:radiation effects; D048271:Chitosan; D004337:Drug Carriers / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000138:chemical synthesis* / Q000737:chemistry; D039823:Iridoids; D028022:Low-Level Light Therapy; D051379:Mice; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry*; D009374:Neoplasms, Experimental / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D010316:Particle Size; D017319:Photosensitizing Agents / Q000138:chemical synthesis* / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D004337:Drug Carriers; D039823:Iridoids; D017319:Photosensitizing Agents; D048271:Chitosan; C007834:genipin