RBC Membrane Camouflaged Semiconducting Polymer Nanoparticles for Near-Infrared Photoacoustic Imaging and Photothermal Therapy

HighlightsA narrow bandgap electron donor-acceptor (D-A) semiconducting polymer nanoparticle (SPN) coated with red blood cell membrane (RBCM) for photoacoustic imaging and photothermal therapy.The D-A structure endows SPN with excellent near-infrared absorbance, high photothermal conversion ability, and good photothermal stability.The RBCM endows SPN with good biocompatibility, prolonged blood circulation, and improved tumor accumulation, while the small size structure endows SPN with deep tumor penetration and rapid clearance from body. AbstractSemiconducting conjugated polymer nanoparticles (SPNs) represent an emerging class of phototheranostic materials with great promise for cancer treatment. In this report, low-bandgap electron donor-acceptor (D-A)-conjugated SPNs with surface cloaked by red blood cell membrane (RBCM) are developed for highly effective photoacoustic imaging and photothermal therapy. The resulting RBCM-coated SPN (SPN@RBCM) displays remarkable near-infrared light absorption and good photostability, as well as high photothermal conversion efficiency for photoacoustic imaging and photothermal therapy. Particularly, due to the small size (<5 nm), SPN@RBCM has the advantages of deep tumor penetration and rapid clearance from the body with no appreciable toxicity. The RBCM endows the SPNs with prolonged systematic circulation time, less reticuloendothelial system uptake and reduced immune-recognition, hence improving tumor accumulation after intravenous injection, which provides strong photoacoustic signals and exerts excellent photothermal therapeutic effects. Thus, this work provides a valuable paradigm for safe and highly efficient tumor photoacoustic imaging and photothermal therapy for further clinical translation.