Near-Infrared Fluorescent Ag2Se-Cetuximab Nanoprobes for Targeted Imaging and Therapy of Cancer

Theranostic nanoprobes integrated with diagnostic imaging and therapy capabilities have shown great potential for highly effective tumor therapy by realizing imaging-guided drug delivery and tumor treatment. Developing novel high-performance nanoprobes is an important basis for tumor theranostic application. Here, near-infrared (NIR) fluorescent and low-biotoxicity Ag2Se quantum dots (QDs) have been coupled with cetuximab, a clinical antiepidermal growth factor receptor antibody drug for tumor therapy, via a facile bioconjugation strategy to prepare multifunctional Ag2Se-cetuximab nanoprobes. Compared with the Ag2Se QDs alone, the Ag2Se-cetuximab nanoprobes display faster and more enrichment at the site of orthotopic tongue cancer, and thus present better NIR fluorescence contrast between the tumor and the surrounding regions. At 24 h postinjection, the NIR fluorescence of Ag2Se-cetuximab nanoprobes at the tumor site is still easily detectable, whereas no fluorescence is observed for the Ag2Se QDs. Moreover, the Ag2Se-cetuximab nanoprobes have also significantly inhibited the tumor growth and improved the survival rate of orthotopic tongue cancer-bearing nude mice from 0% to 57.1%. Taken together, the constructed multifunctional Ag(2)se-cetuximab nanoprobes have achieved combined targeted imaging and therapy of orthotopic tongue cancer, which may greatly contribute to the development of nanotheranostics.