Near-Infrared absorbing J-Aggregates of boron dipyrromethene for high efficient photothermal therapy

Constructing bioactive materials remains a big challenge through the aggregates of molecules. Herein, a boron dipyrromethene (BODIPY) derivative containing three nitro groups (BDP-(NO2)(3)) was synthesized, which displays the characteristic of J-aggregate with pronounced red-shifted absorption in nonpolar solvent and aqueous media. The bathochromic shift from 635 to 765 nm facilitates photothermal transition upon the irradiation of near-infrared (NIR) light. Interestingly, BDP-(NO2)(3) nanoparticles (NPs) fabricated from BDP-(NO2)(3) and poly(oxyethylene)-poly(oxypropylene) copolymer (F-127), still exhibit obvious J-aggregate, which possess the merits of hydrophilicity, NIR absorption, high photothermal conversion efficiency, excellent biosafety, and can behave as unique candidates for photothermal therapy. In vitro and in vivo experiments validate that BDP-(NO2)(3) NPs can effectively suppress the proliferation of cancer cells and lead to tumor ablation. This assembly method would be a generic and efficient mode for reasonable design of functional nanomaterials, and could inspire more study on aggregates of organic molecules. (C) 2021 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

The constructed BDP-(NO2)(3) nanoparticles exhibit promising performance in photothermal conversion, showing potential applications in photothermal therapy. This method provides a universal and efficient approach for the rational design of functional nanomaterials. Experimental results validate the efficacy of BDP-(NO2)(3) NPs in inhibiting cancer cell proliferation and tumor ablation.