Making Aggregation-Induced Emission Luminogen More Valuable by Gold: Enhancing Anticancer Efficacy by Suppressing Thioredoxin Reductase Activity

作者：Zou, Hang; Zhang, Jing^*; Wu, Changmeng; He, Benzhao; Hu, Yubing; Sung, Herman H. Y.; Kwok, Ryan T. K.^*; Lam, Jacky W. Y.; Zheng, Lei^*; Tang, Ben Zhong^*

来源：ACS Nano, 2021, 15(5): 9176-9185.

DOI：10.1021/acsnano.1c02882

• gold(I) complex
• aggregation-induced emission
• reactive oxygen species
• thioredoxin reductase
• photosensitizers

Gold complexes have been recognized as potential anticancer agents against various kinds of diseases due to their inherent suppressions of antioxidant thioredoxin reductase (TrxR) activity. Herein, a powerful aggregation-induced emission luminogen (ALEgen), TBP-Au, was designed and synthesized by integrating an anticancer Au(I) moiety with an ME-active photosensitizer (TBP), in which both the production and consumption routes of reactive oxygen species ( ROS) were elaborately considered simultaneously to boost the anticancer efficacy. It has been demonstrated that TBP-Au could realize superior two-photon fluorescence imaging in tumor tissues with high resolution and deep penetration as well as long-term imaging in live animals due to its ME property. In addition, the introduction of a special Au(I) moiety could tune the organelle specificity and efficiently facilitate the ROS-determined photodynamic therapy (PDT). More impressively, TBP-Au could efficiently eliminate cancer cells under light irradiation through the preconceived synergetic approaches from the PDT and the effective suppression of TrxR, demonstrating that TBP-Au holds great potential for precise cancer theranostics.

• 单位
  南方医科大学