Biomineralization-Inspired Synthesis of Copper Sulfide-Ferritin Nanocages as Cancer Theranostics.

ABSTRACT: It is essential to control the size and morphology of nanoparticles strictly in nanomedicine. Protein cages offer significant potential for templated synthesis of inorganic nanoparticles. In this study, we successfully synthesized ultrasmall copper sulfide (CuS) nanoparticles inside the cavity of ferritin (Fn) nanocages by a biomimetic synthesis method. The uniform CuS-Fn nanocages (CuS-Fn NCs) showed strong near-infrared absorbance and high photothermal conversion efficiency. In quantitative ratiometric photoacoustic imaging (PAI), the CuS-Fn NCs exhibited superior photoacoustic tomography improvements for real-time in vivo PAI of entire tumors. With the incorporation of radionuclide (64)Cu, (64)CuS-Fn NCs also served as an excellent PET imaging agent with higher tumor accumulation compar

SUBMITTER: Wang Z 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5242369 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature