The optical imaging guided
tumor vessels and
vascular malformation visualization by using the second near infrared emission beyond 1500 nm (NIR-II) is emerged as the next generation fluorescence imaging technique for early
tumor diagnosis and identification of
tumor-associated vascular features. On the other hand, developing
theranostic probes for NIR-II imaging guided
photothermal therapy (PTT) is of great significance, which is rarely explored. Herein, a high performance
theranostic nanoplatform based on the core-shell structured NaLuF4 nanorods@
polydopamine (denoted as NRs@PDA) by integrating the new advanced NIR-II imaging beyond 1500 nm with PTT function was developed for
tumor-associated
vascular malformation visualization and imaging-guided PTT. Methods: In this work, the hydrophilic NaLuF4 NRs@PDA therapeutic probe was synthesized by using a reverse microemulsion method. The crystal phase, morphology, emission spectra and photothermal performance of the synthesized samples were systematically characterized. The NIR-II optical imaging and photothermal properties were investigated by in vitro and in vivo experiments. Results: The NaLuF4 NRs@PDA therapeutic probe possessed efficient NIR-II emission centered at 1525 nm with high quantum yield (QY), good photo-stability and high biocompatibility. In vivo NIR-IIb imaging based on the designed probe can clearly visualize the whole-body vessel and brain vessel with high spatial resolution, especially
tumor-associated vessels. In addition, in vitro and in vivo experiments also demonstrated that the designed NaLuF4 NRs@PDA probe possessed efficient photothermal conversion efficiency (40.18%) for PTT ablation of
tumor. Conclusion: With the excellent NIR-II imaging ability and PTT of
tumor, the designed
theranostic nanoplatform successfully realize the simultaneous
tumor vessel diagnosis and
tumor therapy, which may provide the opportunity of designing new
theranostic bioprobes with combination of the NIR-II optical imaging technique and PTT function for
tumor diagnosis and
therapy.