On January 10, 2022， Prof. Qian Haisheng of our university, with his research group, published an academic paper entitled “Upconversion nanoparticles@AgBiS2 core-shell nanoparticles with cancer-cell-specific cytotoxicity for combined photothermal and photodynamic therapy of cancers” on the renowned journal Bioactive Materials (IF: 14.593). Chu Zhaoyou, Doctoral Candidate at AHMU is the first author of the paper, Prof. Qian Haisheng being the last author.
Combined photothermal / photodynamic therapy has been considered as an effective and non-invasive treatment for cancers. The thermal effect at an appropriate level can increase the intratumoral blood flow, and transport more oxygen into the tumor，resulting in yielding synergistic or combined therapeutic outcomes even in severely hypoxic solid tumors.
In previous studies, the research group had developed a method for preparing metal sulfides and sulfide-coated nanostructures. The latest research results overcame the problem of lattice mismatch and successfully prepared a new core-shell nanoparticles material ( UCNPs @ AgBiS2 ). This material showed a significant effect on inhibiting tumor growth. Under near-infrared light irradiation, it showed enhanced photothermal conversion and good production capacity of reactive oxygen species, achieving the combined effect of photothermal / photodynamic therapy against tumors.
The study is financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, Key Research Fund of Anhui Provincial Institute of Translational Medicine and Research Grants for Leading Talents of Provincial Universities.
Link to the paper: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bioactmat.2022.01.010