Targeted Micellar Phthalocyanine for Lymph Node Metastasis Homing and Photothermal Therapy in an Orthotopic Colorectal Tumor Model

Highlights Small-sized trastuzumab-targeted micelles (T-MP) were engineered using a surfactant-stripping approach that yielded concentrated phthalocyanines with strong near infrared absorption.T-MP accumulated more in the lymph node (LN) metastases of orthotopic colorectal cancer compared to the micelles conjugated with control IgG.Following surgical resection of the primary tumor, minimally invasive photothermal treatment of the metastatic LN with T-MP, but not the control micelles, extended mouse survival. Tumor lymph node (LN) metastasis seriously affects the treatment prognosis. Studies have shown that nanoparticles with size of sub-50 nm can directly penetrate into LN metastases after intravenous administration. Here, we speculate through introducing targeting capacity, the nanoparticle accumulation in LN metastases would be further enhanced for improved local treatment such as photothermal therapy. Trastuzumab-targeted micelles (