Dopamine-mediated photothermal theranostics combined with up-conversion platform under near infrared light

An organic-inorganic hybrid core-shell nanostructure, based on mesoporous silica coated upconversion core-shell nanoparticles (NaGdF₄:Yb,Er@NaGdF₄:Yb@mSiO₂-Dopa abbreviated here as UCNP@mSiO₂-Dopa) that stably incorporates dopamine (Dopa) in the silica layer was introduced as a theranostic nanoplatform for optical imaging guided photothermal therapy (PTT) using NIR excitation. Silica-attaching polyethylenimine make the Dopa transforms into an active form (transferred Dopa) that strongly absorbs light under single 980 nm irradiation. We show that the activated UCNP@mSiO₂-Dopa nanoplatform is able to produce a pronounced photothermal effect, that elevates water temperature from room temperature to 41.8 °C within 2 minutes, while concurrently emitting strong upconverted luminescence (UCL) for visualized guidance under 980 nm laser. In addition, we demonstrate the application of the same UCNP@mSiO₂-Dopa nanoplatform for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and x-ray computed tomography (CT) enabled by the gadolinium (Gd) element contained in the UCNP. Importantly, the in vitro and in vivo anti-cancer therapeutic effects have been shown efficacious, implying the use of the described nanoplatform as an effective multi-modal imaging enabled PTT agent. Results from the in vivo biodistribution of UCNPs@mSiO₂, cellular live/dead assay, and histologic analysis of main organs of treated mice, reveal that the UCNP@mSiO₂-Dopa agents are bio-compatible with low toxicity.