PAF-guided precise and fast delivery of nanomedicine with boosted therapeutic efficacy

Precise and efficient delivery of nanomedicine to the target site has remained as a major roadblock in advanced cancer treatment. Here, we report a novel photoacoustic force (PAF)-guided nanotherapeutic system based on a near-infrared (NIR)-absorbing semiconducting polymer (SP), showing significantly improved tumor accumulation and deep tissue penetration for enhanced phototherapeutic efficacy. The accumulation of nanoparticles in 4T1 tumor-bearing mice induced by the PAF strategy displays a ~5-fold enhancement in comparison with that of traditional passive targeting pathway, in a significantly shortened time (45 min vs. 24 h) with an enhanced penetration depth in tumors. Additionally, we rationally design a tumor-bearing mouse model to unveil the mechanism, indicating that the nanoparticles enter solid tumors through enhanced transportation across blood vessel barriers via both inter-endothelial gaps and active trans-endothelial pathways. This process is specifically driven by PAF generated from the nanoparticles under NIR laser irradiation. Our study thus demonstrates a new nanotherapeutic strategy with low dose, enhanced delivery efficiency in tumor, and boosted therapeutic efficacy, opening new doors for designing novel nanocarriers.

Source: Jun Wang, Tingting Li, Jen- shyang Ni, Heng Guo, Tianyi Kang, Zeshun Li, Menglei Zha, Songbo Lu, Chen Zhang, Weizhi Qi, Lei Xi, Kai Li, Photoacoustic Force ‐Guided Precise and Fast Delivery of Nanomedicine with Boosted Therapeutic Efficacy,   Advanced Science, 8(16): 2100228, 2021.