A general in-situ reduction method to prepare core-shell liquid-metal / metal nanoparticles for photothermally enhanced catalytic cancer therapy

Nailin Yang; Fei Gong; Yangkai Zhou; Yu Hao; Ziliang Dong; Huali Lei; Liping Zhong; Xiaoyuan Yang; Xianwen Wang; Yongxiang Zhao; Zhuang Liu; Liang Cheng

doi:10.1016/j.biomaterials.2021.121125

A general in-situ reduction method to prepare core-shell liquid-metal / metal nanoparticles for photothermally enhanced catalytic cancer therapy

Biomaterials. 2021 Oct:277:121125. doi: 10.1016/j.biomaterials.2021.121125. Epub 2021 Sep 10.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Functional Nano & Soft Materials (FUNSOM), Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Carbon-Based Functional Materials & Devices, Soochow University, Suzhou, 215123, China.
² National Center for International Biotargeting Theranostics, Guangxi Key Laboratory of Biotargeting Theranostics, Collaborative Innovation Center for Targeting Tumor Theranostics, Guangxi Medical University, Guangxi, 530021, China.
³ National Center for International Biotargeting Theranostics, Guangxi Key Laboratory of Biotargeting Theranostics, Collaborative Innovation Center for Targeting Tumor Theranostics, Guangxi Medical University, Guangxi, 530021, China. Electronic address: yongxiang_zhao@126.com.
⁴ Institute of Functional Nano & Soft Materials (FUNSOM), Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Carbon-Based Functional Materials & Devices, Soochow University, Suzhou, 215123, China. Electronic address: lcheng2@suda.edu.cn.

PMID: 34534859
DOI: 10.1016/j.biomaterials.2021.121125

Abstract

Gallium indium (GaIn) alloy as a kind of liquid metal (LM) with unique chemical and physical properties has attracted increasing attention for its potential biomedical applications. Herein, a series of core-shell GaIn@Metal (Metal: Pt, Au, Ag, and Cu) heterogeneous nanoparticles (NPs) are obtained by a simple in-situ reduction method. Take core-shell GaIn@Pt NPs for example, the synthesized GaIn@Pt NPs after Pt growth on their surface showed significantly improved photothermal conversion efficiency (PCE) and thermal stability under near-infrared (NIR) II light irradiation. Moreover, the core-shell GaIn@Pt NPs also exhibited good Fenton-like catalytic effect due to the presence of Pt on their surface, and could convert tumor endogenous H₂O₂ to generate reactive oxygen species (ROS) for cancer cell killing. With biocompatible polyethylene glycol (PEG) modification, such GaIn@Pt-PEG NPs showed efficient tumor homing after intravenous injection, and could lead to effective NIR II triggered photothermal-chemodynamic synergistic therapy of tumors as evidenced in a mouse tumor model. Our work highlights the ingenious use of the chemical properties of metals, providing a rather simple route for the surface engineering of LM-based multifunctional nanoplatforms to achieve a variety of functionalities.

Keywords: Chemodynamic therapy; Core-shell structures; In-situ reduction method; Liquid metal; Multi-modal imaging; Photothermal therapy.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Animals
Catalysis
Hydrogen Peroxide
Metal Nanoparticles*
Mice
Nanoparticles*
Neoplasms* / drug therapy
Theranostic Nanomedicine

Substances

Hydrogen Peroxide