Fe@Fe3Ge2 nanoparticles for MR imaging-guided NIR-driven photodynamic therapy in vivo

Abstract

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) has attracted much attention as a useful technique for disease therapy, considering its minimum invasiveness, high spatial-temporal control, and specific lesion destruction. However, the limited generation of singlet oxygen (¹O₂) in PDT has restricted the practical biomedical applications of photosensitizers. To overcome this issue, we first developed iron nanoparticles as an Fe nanotemplate to synthesize iron germanium nanoalloy coated iron nanoparticles (Fe@Fe₃Ge₂ NPs), which possess strong near-infrared (NIR) absorption, as a highly stable photosensitizer and to generate ¹O₂ effectively under irradiation by an 808 nm laser for NIR-PDT via the mitochondrial apoptotic pathway. Taking advantage of the strong magnetic properties of the Fe nanotemplates and the effective generation of ¹O₂ by Fe₃Ge₂ nanoshells, Fe@Fe₃Ge₂ NPs could be applicable for efficient targeted magnetic resonance imaging-guided NIR-PDT in an α_vβ₃-positive U87MG glioblastoma model. This work marks an important step forward in developing a novel nanoparticulated theranostic agent for accurate clinical cancer theranostics in the future.