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Engineering of tungsten carbide nanoparticles for imaging-guided single 1,064 nm laser-activated dual-type photodynamic and photothermal therapy of cancer

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Abstract

The promising potential of photodynamic therapy (PDT) has fueled the development of minimally invasive therapeutic approaches for cancer therapy. However, overcoming limitations in PDT efficacy in the hypoxic tumor environment and light penetration depth remains a challenge. We report the engineering of tungsten carbide nanoparticles (W2C NPs) for 1,064 nm laser-activated dual-type PDT and combined theranostics. The synthesized W2C NPs allow the robust generation of dual-type reactive oxygen species, including hydroxyl radicals (type I) and singlet oxygen (type II), using only single 1,064 nm laser activation, enabling effective PDT even in the hypoxic tumor environment. The W2C NPs also possess high photothermal performance under 1,064 nm laser irradiation, thus enabling synergistically enhanced cancer therapeutic efficacy of PDT and photothermal therapy. Additionally, the photoacoustic and X-ray computed tomography bioimaging properties of W2C NPs facilitate the integration of tumor diagnosis and therapy. The developed W2C based theranostic nanoagents increase the generation of reactive oxygen species in hypoxic tumors, improve the light penetration depth, and facilitate combined photothermal therapy and photoacoustic/computed tomography dual-mode bioimaging. These attributes could spur the exploration of transition metal carbides for advanced biomedical applications.

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. U1505221, 21635002, 21475026, 21775025, and U1705281), the Program for Changjiang Scholars and Innovative Research Team in University (No. IRT15R11), and the Independent Research Project of State Key Laboratory of Photocatalysis on Energy and Environment (No. 2014B02).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. MOE Key Laboratory for Analytical Science of Food Safety and Biology, State Key Laboratory of Photocatalysis on Energy and Environment, College of Chemistry, Fuzhou University, Fuzhou, 350116, China

    Shi-Hua Li, Wen Yang, Yang Liu, Xiao-Rong Song, Chun-Hua Lu & Huang-Hao Yang

  2. College of Biological Science and Engineering, Fuzhou University, Fuzhou, 350116, China

    Rui Liu

  3. Department of Radiology, Fujian Medical University Union Hospital, No. 29 Xinquan Road, Fuzhou, 350001, China

    Guangliang Chen

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  1. Shi-Hua Li
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Engineering of tungsten carbide nanoparticles forimaging-guided single 1,064 nm laser-activated dual-type photodynamic and photothermal therapy of cancer

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Li, SH., Yang, W., Liu, Y. et al. Engineering of tungsten carbide nanoparticles for imaging-guided single 1,064 nm laser-activated dual-type photodynamic and photothermal therapy of cancer. Nano Res. 11, 4859–4873 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-018-2075-z

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