Multifunctional nanoparticles integrating accurate multi-diagnosis and efficient therapy hold great prospects in tumor theranostics. However, it is still a challenging task to develop multifunctional nanoparticles for imaging-guided effective eradication of tumors. Herein, we developed a near-infrared (NIR) organic agent Aza/I-BDP by coupling 2,6-diiodo-dipyrromethene (2,6-diiodo-BODIPY) with aza-boron-dipyrromethene (Aza-BODIPY). Through encapsulating with an amphiphilic biocompatible copolymer DSPE-mPEG5000, well-distributed Aza/I-BDP nanoparticles (NPs) were developed, which exhibited high 1O2 generation, high photothermal conversion efficiency, and excellent photo-stability. Notably, coassembly of Aza/I-BDP and DSPE-mPEG5000 effectively inhibits H-aggregation of Aza/I-BDP in aqueous solution and enhances the brightness simultaneously up to 31-fold. More importantly, in vivo experiments demonstrated that Aza/I-BDP NPs might be used for NIR fluorescent and photoacoustic imaging-guided photodynamic and photothermal therapy.
Keywords: fluorescent imaging; photoacoustic imaging; photodynamic; photothermal; tumor theranostic.