Mitochondria-Targeted Polydopamine Nanocomposite with AIE Photosensitizer for Image-Guided Photodynamic and Photothermal Tumor Ablation

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) and photothermal therapy (PTT) are two kinds of treatment for tumors. Herein, a new aggregation-induced emission (AIE)gen (MeO-TPE-indo, MTi) is synthesized with a D-pi-A conjugated structure. MTi, which has an electron donor and an acceptor on a tetraphenylethene (TPE) conjugated skeleton, can induce the effective generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) for PDT. With the guide of the indolium group, MTi can target and image mitochondrion selectively. In order to get good dispersion in water and long-time retention in tumors, MTi is modified on the surface of polydopamine nanoparticles (PDA NPs) to form the nanocomposite (PDA-MeO-TPE-indo, PMTi) by pi-pi and hydrogen interactions. PMTi is a nanoscale composite for imaging-guided PDT and PTT in tumor treatment, which is constructed with AIEgens and PDA for the first time. The organic functional molecules are combined with nanomaterials for building a multifunctional diagnosis and treatment platform by utilizing the advantages of both sides.