The development of novel and effective cancer treatments will greatly contribute to prolonging and improving patient lives. In this study, a multifunctional nanoplatform was designed and developed based on mesoporous NiO (mNiO) nanoparticles and terbium complexes as an artemisinin (ART) vehicle, a T2-weighted contrast agent, and a luminescence imaging probe. mNiO is a novel pH-responsive material that can degrade and release nickel ions (Ni2+) in an acidic tumor microenvironment. The endoperoxide bridge bond in the structure of ART tends to react with Ni2+ to produce radicals that can kill tumor cells. On the basis of its excellent near-infrared absorbance, mNiO can also be considered as a novel photothermal conversion agent for cancer photothermal therapy (PTT). Compared with free ART or PTT only, this novel agent showed remarkably enhanced antitumor activity in cultured cells and in tumor mice models, owing to the hypoxic tumor microenvironment impelling synergistic therapeutic action. These results provide a novel way of using a promising natural drug-based nanoplatform for synergistic therapy of tumors.
Keywords: artemisinin; hypoxic; mesoporous; photothermal therapy; synergistic therapeutic.