Related Experiment Video
Updated: Nov 16, 2025
11:20
An Integrated System to Remotely Trigger Intracellular Signal Transduction by Upconversion Nanoparticle-mediated Kinase Photoactivation
Published on: August 30, 2017
7.6K
Multifunctional Programmable DNA Nanotrain for Activatable Hypoxia Imaging and Mitochondrion-Targeted Enhanced
Jin Liu1, Ge Ding2, Shiya Chen1
1State Key Laboratory of Chemo/Biosensing and Chemometrics, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Institute of Chemical Biology and Nanomedicine (ICBN), Hunan University, Changsha 410082, China.
ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces
|February 19, 2021
Summary
This study introduces a novel DNA nanotrain that targets cancer cell mitochondria. It activates imaging and photodynamic therapy in hypoxic environments by responding to azoreductase.
Area of Science:
- Biomedical Engineering
- Nanotechnology
- Molecular Imaging
Background:
- Programmable DNA nanostructures offer potential for biological imaging and tumor therapy.
- Few DNA nanostructures are designed to respond to the hypoxic tumor microenvironment for targeted therapy and imaging.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop an azoreductase-responsive, mitochondrion-targeted DNA nanotrain for activatable hypoxia imaging and enhanced photodynamic therapy (PDT).
Main Methods:
- Constructed DNA nanotrain monomers with a fluorescent dye (Cy3) for mitochondrial targeting and a quencher (BHQ2) for azoreductase responsiveness.
- Incorporated a photosensitizer (TMPyP4) for PDT and utilized fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) for signal quenching.
- Demonstrated restoration of fluorescence and singlet oxygen generation upon BHQ2 reduction by azoreductase in hypoxic cancer cells.
Main Results:
- The DNA nanotrain showed quenched fluorescence and PDT potential, which was restored under hypoxic conditions due to azoreductase activity.
- Cy3 facilitated mitochondrial accumulation of the nanotrain, enhancing PDT efficacy under light irradiation.
- The nanoplatform enabled activatable imaging and targeted therapy in cancer cells.
Conclusions:
- The developed DNA nanotrain is a multifunctional platform for activatable imaging and enhanced PDT in hypoxic tumors.
- This approach holds promise for improving cancer treatment strategies by leveraging the tumor microenvironment.
