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Despite extensive use of radiotherapy in cancer treatment, there has been huge demand to improve its efficacy and accuracy in tumor destruction. To this end, nanoparticle-based radiosensitizers, particularly those with high-Z elements, have been explored to enhance radiotherapy. Meanwhile, imaging is an essential tool prior to the individual planning of precise radiotherapy. Here, hollow tantalum oxide (H-TaOx) nanoshells are prepared using a one-pot template-free method and then modified with polyethylene glycol (PEG), yielding H-TaOx-PEG nanoshells for imaging-guided synergistically enhanced radiotherapy. H-TaOx-PEG nanoshells show strong intrinsic binding with metal ions such as Fe3+ and 99mTc4+ upon simple mixing, enabling magnetic resonance imaging and single photon emission computed tomography imaging, respectively, which are able to track in vivo distribution of those nanoshells and locate the tumor. With mesoporous shells and large cavities, those H-TaOx-PEG nanoshells show efficient loading of 7-ethyl-10-hydroxycamptothecin (SN-38), a hydrophobic chemotherapeutic drug. By means of the radiosensitization effect of Ta to deposit X-ray energy inside tumors, as well as SN-38-induced cell cycle arrest into radiation-sensitive phases, H-TaOx-PEG@SN-38 can offer remarkable synergistic therapeutic outcome in the combined chemoradiotherapy. Without appreciable systemic toxicity, such hollow-TaOx nanostructure may therefore find promising applications in multimodal imaging and enhanced cancer radiotherapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Combining different therapeutic strategies to treat cancer by overcoming limitations of conventional cancer therapies has shown great promise in both fundamental and clinical studies. Herein, by adding 131I when making iodine-doped CuS nanoparticles, CuS/[131I]I nanoparticles are obtained, which after functionalization with polyethylene glycol (PEG) are used for radiotherapy (RT) and photothermal therapy (PTT), by utilizing their intrinsic high near-infrared absorbance and the doped 131I-radioactivity, respectively. The combined RT and PTT based on CuS/[131I]I-PEG is then conducted, achieving remarkable synergistic therapeutic effects as demonstrated in the treatment of subcutaneous tumors. In the meanwhile, as revealed by bimodal nuclear imaging and computed tomography (CT) imaging, it is found that CuS/[131I]I-PEG nanoparticles after being injected into primary solid tumors could migrate to and retain in their nearby sentinel lymph nodes. Importantly, the combined RT and PTT applied on those lymph nodes to assist surgical resection of primary tumors results in remarkably inhibited cancer metastasis and greatly prolonged animal survival. In vivo toxicology studies further reveal that our CuS/I-PEG is not obviously toxic to animals at fourfold of the treatment dose. This work thus demonstrates the potential of combining RT and PTT using a single nanoagent for imaging-guided treatment of metastatic tumors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of cancer combination therapies, many of which rely on nanoscale theranostic agents, has received increasing attention in recent years. In this work, polyethylene glycol (PEG) modified mesoporous silica (MS) coated single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) are fabricated and utilized as a multifunctional platform for imaging guided combination therapy of cancer. A model chemotherapy drug, doxorubicin (DOX), could be loaded into the mesoporous structure of the obtained SWNT@MS-PEG nano-carriers with high efficiency. Upon stimulation under near-infrared (NIR) light, photothermally triggered drug release from DOX loaded SWNT@MS-PEG is observed inside cells, resulting in a synergistic cancer cell killing effect. As revealed by both photoacoustic (PA) and magnetic resonance (MR) imaging, we further uncover efficient tumor accumulation of SWNT@MS-PEG/DOX after intravenous injection into mice. In vivo combination therapy using this agent is further demonstrated in a mouse tumor model, achieving a remarkable synergistic anti-tumor effect superior to that obtained by mono-therapy. Our work presents a new type of theranostic nano-platform, which could load therapeutic molecules with high efficiency, be responsive to external NIR stimulation, and at the same time serve as a diagnostic imaging agent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Effective and sustained tumor oxygenation has found practical significance in benefiting the treatment of solid tumors. In this study, fluorinated covalent organic polymers (COPs) are prepared by cross‐linking the photosensitizer meso‐5, 10, 15, 20‐tetra (4‐hydroxylphenyl) porphyrin (THPP) with perfluorosebacic acid (PFSEA) and poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) via a one‐pot esterification, to enable simultaneous tumor oxygenation and photodynamic treatment. Due to the presence of PFSEA, the obtained THPPpf–PEG shows efficient loading of perfluoro‐15‐crown‐5‐ether (PFCE), a type of perfluocarbon, and thereby molecular oxygen, both of which would significantly enhance the photodynamic effect of THPP. After chelating THPP with a radio‐isotope, 99mTc, both THPPpf–PEG and PFCE‐loaded THPPpf–PEG (PFCE@THPPpf–PEG) can be vividly visualized under the single‐photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) imaging, which uncovers efficient tumor accumulation of those COPs' post intravenous injection. Owing to the oxygen delivery ability of PFCE, efficient tumor oxygenation is observed for mice post injection of PFCE@THPPpf–PEG, which further leads to greatly enhanced photodynamic treatment of tumors. This study presents a unique type of multifunctional fluorinated COPs with well‐defined composition, long blood circulation time, and sustained tumor oxygenation ability, showing great promises for potential clinical translation in photodynamic treatment of tumors. An intriguing type of fluorinated nanocovalent organic polymers, THPPpf–PEG, is prepared via a one‐pot esterification reaction and can work as an efficient shuttle of perfluorocarbon (PFC) and subsequent oxygen for sustained tumor hypoxia attenuation. Utilizing its effective photodynamic effect, such THPPpf–PEG with PFC loaded can contribute to greatly enhanced cancer photodynamic treatment upon laser exposure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]