Biomimetic Upconversion Nanoplatform Synergizes Photodynamic Therapy and Enhanced Radiotherapy against Tumor Metastasis

Abstract

The easy recurrence and high metastasis of fatal tumors require the development of a combination therapy, which is able to overcome the drawbacks of monomodal strategies such as surgery, photodynamic therapy (PDT), and radiotherapy (RT). Taking the complementary advantages of PDT and RT, we present herein the integration of lanthanide-doped upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) with chlorin e6 (Ce6)-imbedded RBC membrane vesicles as a near-infrared-induced PDT agent for achieving synchronous depth PDT and RT with reduced radiation exposure. In such a nanoagent, gadolinium-doped UCNPs with strong X-ray attenuation ability act not only as a light transductor to activate the loaded photosensitizer Ce6 to allow PDT but also as a radiosensitizer to enhance RT. PDT with enhanced low-dose RT can achieve synergistic inhibition of tumor growth by producing reactive oxygen species to destroy local tumor cells and inducing strong T-cell-dependent immunogenic cell death to arrest systemic cancer metastasis. This combination of PDT and RT might be a potential appealing strategy for tumor eradication.