title: Bottom-Up Synthesis of Metal-Ion-Doped WS₂ Nanoflakes for Cancer Theranostics.
abstract: Recently, two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) have received tremendous attention in many fields including biomedicine. Herein, we develop a general method to dope different types of metal ions into WS2 nanoflakes, a typical class of TMDCs, and choose Gd(3+)-doped WS2 (WS2:Gd(3+)) with polyethylene glycol (PEG) modification as a multifunctional agent for imaging-guided combination cancer treatment. While WS2 with strong near-infrared (NIR) absorbance and X-ray attenuation ability enables contrasts in photoacoustic (PA) imaging and computed tomography (CT), Gd(3+) doping offers the nanostructure a paramagnetic property for magnetic resonance (MR) imaging. As revealed by trimodal PA/CT/MR imaging, WS2:Gd(3+)-PEG nanoflakes showed efficient tumor homing after intravenous injection. In vivo cancer treatment study further uncovered that WS2:Gd(3+)-PEG could not only convert NIR light into heat for photothermal therapy (PTT) but also enhance the ionizing irradiation-induced tumor damage to boost radiation therapy (RT). Owing to the improved tumor oxygenation after the mild PTT, the combination of PTT and RT induced by WS2:Gd(3+)-PEG resulted in a remarkable synergistic effect to destroy cancer. Our work highlights the promise of utilizing inherent physical properties of TMDC-based nanostructures, whose functions could be further enriched by elementary doping, for applications in multimodal bioimaging and synergistic cancer therapy.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Functional Nano & Soft Materials (FUNSOM), Collaborative Innovation Center of Suzhou Nano Science and Technology, Soochow University , Suzhou, Jiangsu 215123, China.
authors.forename: Liang
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.affiliation: Institute of Functional Nano & Soft Materials (FUNSOM), Collaborative Innovation Center of Suzhou Nano Science and Technology, Soochow University , Suzhou, Jiangsu 215123, China.
authors.forename: Chao
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Yuan
authors.affiliation: Institute of Functional Nano & Soft Materials (FUNSOM), Collaborative Innovation Center of Suzhou Nano Science and Technology, Soochow University , Suzhou, Jiangsu 215123, China.
authors.forename: Sida
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.affiliation: School of Radiation Medicine and Protection & School for Radiological and Interdisciplinary Sciences (RAD-X), Jiangsu Provincial Key Laboratory of Radiation Medicine and Protection, Soochow University , Suzhou, Jiangsu 215123, China.
authors.forename: Xuan
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Yi
authors.affiliation: Institute of Functional Nano & Soft Materials (FUNSOM), Collaborative Innovation Center of Suzhou Nano Science and Technology, Soochow University , Suzhou, Jiangsu 215123, China.
authors.forename: Hua
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Gong
authors.affiliation: School of Radiation Medicine and Protection & School for Radiological and Interdisciplinary Sciences (RAD-X), Jiangsu Provincial Key Laboratory of Radiation Medicine and Protection, Soochow University , Suzhou, Jiangsu 215123, China.
authors.forename: Kai
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Institute of Functional Nano & Soft Materials (FUNSOM), Collaborative Innovation Center of Suzhou Nano Science and Technology, Soochow University , Suzhou, Jiangsu 215123, China.
authors.forename: Zhuang
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Liu
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D005455:Fluorescent Antibody Technique; D005682:Gadolinium / Q000737:chemistry; D006979:Hyperthermia, Induced; D007477:Ions; D008670:Metals / Q000737:chemistry*; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D049329:Nanostructures / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000628:therapy*; D010789:Phototherapy; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols / Q000737:chemistry; D013440:Sulfides / Q000737:chemistry*; D000068936:Theranostic Nanomedicine / Q000379:methods*; D017973:Tungsten Compounds / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D007477:Ions; D008670:Metals; D013440:Sulfides; D017973:Tungsten Compounds; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols; D005682:Gadolinium
keywords: cancer theranostics; metal-ion-doped WS2 nanoflakes; multimodal imaging; photothermal therapy; radiation therapy