Nanoengineered cytotoxic T cells for photoacoustic image-guided combinatorial cancer therapy

This study aims to demonstrate that surface engineering of cytotoxic T cells with drug-loaded nanoparticles enhances nanoparticle delivery to induce a more potent combinatorial chemotherapeutic and immunotherapeutic effect, as well as enabling spatial tracking through the use of non-invasive, real-time ultrasound-guided photoacoustic imaging. Ovalbumin (OVA)-targeting OT-1 T cells were functionalized with doxorubicin-loaded, mesoporous silica-coated gold nanorods. In vitro toxicity and synergistic effects were assessed using antigen-matched OVA-expressing melanoma cells, while in vivo studies evaluated therapeutic efficacy. Ultrasound-guided photoacoustic imaging was employed to confirm the targeted delivery of the nanoengineered cells. The integration of optically active, drug-loaded nanoparticles with T cells facilitates precise image-guided delivery and enhances nanoparticle accumulation within the tumor environment, thereby maximizing the combinatorial chemo-immunotherapeutic effect. The integration of optically active, drug-loaded nanoparticles with T cells facilitates precise image-guided delivery and enhances nanoparticle accumulation within the tumor environment, thereby maximizing the combinatorial chemo-immunotherapeutic effect.