title: A Donor-Acceptor Conjugated Polymer with Alternating Isoindigo Derivative and Bithiophene Units for Near-Infrared Modulated Cancer Thermo-Chemotherapy.
abstract: Conjugated polymers containing alternating donor/acceptor units have strong and sharp absorbance peaks in near-infrared (NIR) region, which could be suitable for photothermal therapy. However, these polymers as photothermal transducers are rarely reported because of their water insolubility, which limits their applications for cancer therapy. Herein, we report the donor-acceptor conjugated polymer PBIBDF-BT with alternating isoindigo derivative (BIBDF) and bithiophene (BT) units as a novel photothermal transducer, which exhibited strong near-infrared (NIR) absorbance due to its low band gap (1.52 eV). To stabilize the conjugated polymer physiological environments, we utilized an amphiphilic copolymer, poly(ethylene glycol)-block-poly(hexyl ethylene phosphate) (mPEG-b-PHEP), to stabilize PBIBDF-BT-based nanoparticles (PBIBDF-BT@NPPPE) through a single emulsion method. The obtained nanoparticles PBIBDF-BT@NPPPE showed great stability in physiological environments and excellent photostability. Moreover, the PBIBDF-BT@NPPPE exhibited high photothermal conversion efficiency, reaching 46.7%, which is relatively high compared with those of commonly used materials for photothermal therapy. Accordingly, in vivo and in vitro experiments demonstrated that PBIBDF-BT@NPPPE exhibits efficient photothermal anticancer efficacy. More importantly, PBIBDF-BT@NPPPE could simultaneously encapsulate other types of therapeutic agents though hydrophobic interactions with the PHEP core and achieve NIR-triggered intracellular drug release and a synergistic combination therapy of thermo-chemotherapy for the treatment of cancer.
authors.affiliation: School of Biological and Medical Engineering, Hefei University of Technology , Hefei, Anhui 230009, China.
authors.forename: Dong-Dong
authors.initials: DD
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: School of Biological and Medical Engineering, Hefei University of Technology , Hefei, Anhui 230009, China.
authors.forename: Jun-Xia
authors.initials: JX
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: School of Biological and Medical Engineering, Hefei University of Technology , Hefei, Anhui 230009, China.
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.affiliation: School of Biological and Medical Engineering, Hefei University of Technology , Hefei, Anhui 230009, China.
authors.forename: Hai-Sheng
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Qian
authors.affiliation: Academy of Opto-Electronic Technology, Hefei University of Technology , Hefei, Anhui 230009, China.
authors.forename: Dong
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: School of Life Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China , Hefei, Anhui 230027, China.
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Academy of Opto-Electronic Technology, Hefei University of Technology , Hefei, Anhui 230009, China.
authors.forename: Guobing
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Academy of Opto-Electronic Technology, Hefei University of Technology , Hefei, Anhui 230009, China.
authors.forename: Longzhen
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Qiu
authors.affiliation: School of Life Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China , Hefei, Anhui 230027, China.
authors.forename: Yu-Cai
authors.initials: YC
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: School of Biological and Medical Engineering, Hefei University of Technology , Hefei, Anhui 230009, China.
authors.forename: Xian-Zhu
authors.initials: XZ
authors.lastname: Yang
mesh_terms: D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D065546:Drug Liberation / Q000187:drug effects / Q000528:radiation effects; D004358:Drug Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D007211:Indoles / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy*; D017319:Photosensitizing Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D011108:Polymers / Q000737:chemistry*; D013876:Thiophenes / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D007211:Indoles; D017319:Photosensitizing Agents; D011108:Polymers; D013876:Thiophenes; C049010:isoindigotin
keywords: conjugated polymer; donor−acceptor polymer; photothermal conversion; photothermal stability; synergistic combination therapy