Emissive Nanoparticles from Co-assembly of Metallatetragon and Amphiphilic Tetraphenylethylene for Cancer Theranostics

Platinum(II)-based metallacycles/cages have obtained tremendous attention due to their fascinating topology and wide range of applications, such as fluorescent materials, cell imaging, and tumor treatment. In this work, a metallatetragon (1) was constructed from 4-(4-(1,2,2-triphenylvinyl)phenyl)pyridine (2) and 90 degrees cis-Pt(II) (Pt) in acetone through the strategy called '' coordination driven self-assembly ''. Interestingly, through coassembly of 1 and poly(ethylene glycol)-modified tetraphenylethylene (TPE-PEG(22)), fluorescent nanotheranostics, which could generate singlet oxygen (O-1(2)) under the NIR irradiation and release Pt drugs under a low-pH microenvironment, were prepared successfully. The obtained theranostics could realize living cell imaging and synergistic chemo-photodynamic therapy in vitro and in vivo.