Hydrophobic IR-780 Dye Encapsulated in cRGD-Conjugated Solid Lipid Nanoparticles for NIR Imaging-Guided Photothermal Therapy

This is high demand to enhance the accumulation of near-infrared theranostic agents in the tumor region, which is favorable to the effective phototherapy. Compared with indocyanine green (a clinically applied dye), IR-780 iodide possesses higher and more stable fluorescence intensity and can be utilized as an imaging-guided PTT agent with laser irradiation. However, lipophilicity and short circulation time limit its applications in cancer imaging and therapy. Moreover, solid lipid nanoparticles (SLNs) conjugated with c­(RGDyK) was designed as efficient carriers to improve the targeted delivery of IR-780 to the tumors. The multifunctional cRGD-IR-780 SLNs exhibited a desirable monodispersity, preferable stability and significant targeting to cell lines overexpressing α v β3 integrin. Additionally, the in vitro assays such as cell viability and in vivo PTT treatment denoted that U87MG cells or U87MG transplantation tumors could be eradicated by applying cRGD-IR-780 SLNs under laser irradiation. Therefore, the resultant cRGD-IR-780 SLNs may serve as a promising NIR imaging-guided targeting PTT agent for cancer therapy.