Highly efficient photothermal nanoagent achieved by harvesting energy via excited-state intramolecular motion within nanoparticles

作者：Zheng Zhao, Chao Chen, Wenting Wu, Fenfen Wang, Lili Du, Xiaoyan Zhang, Yu Xiong, Xuewen He, Yuanjing Cai, Ryan T. K. Kwok, Jacky W. Y. Lam, Xike Gao, Pingchuan Sun, David Lee Phillips, Dan Ding, Ben Zhong Tang · 发表于：Nature Communications · 年份：2019 · DOI：10.1038/s41467-019-08722-z · 被引用次数：473 · 研究领域：Nanoplatforms for cancer theranostics、Photoacoustic and Ultrasonic Imaging、Photodynamic Therapy Research Studies

The exciting applications of molecular motion are still limited and are in urgent pursuit, although some fascinating concepts such as molecular motors and molecular machines have been proposed for years. Utilizing molecular motion in a nanoplatform for practical application has been scarcely explored due to some unconquered challenges such as how to achieve effective molecular motion in the aggregate state within nanoparticles. Here, we introduce a class of near infrared-absorbing organic molecules with intramolecular motion-induced photothermy inside nanoparticles, which enables most absorbed light energy to dissipate as heat. Such a property makes the nanoparticles a superior photoacoustic imaging agent compared to widely used methylene blue and semiconducting polymer nanoparticles and allow them for high-contrast photoacoustic imaging of tumours in live mice. This study not only provides a strategy for developing advanced photothermal/photoacoustic imaging nanoagents, but also enables molecular motion in a nanoplatform to find a way for practical application.