Biomimetic nanoplatform based on perylene diimide for tumor-specific fluorescence-imaging and drug delivery

Precise diagnosis and efficient treatment of breast cancer is a crucial research direction in the field of oncology. Perylene diimide (PDI) materials have shown potential biomedical applications due to their unique optical and structural properties. In this study, a poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) and polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS) co-modified perylene diimide (PDI)-based material (PDI-PEG) was designed and synthesized as a near-infrared region I (NIR-I) fluorescent dye. On this basis, hybrid nanoparticles (NPs) consisting of PDI-PEG and Tween 80 were constructed to serve dual purposes of fluorescence imaging and drug delivery. To further achieve precise targeting, a series of biomimetic nano-delivery systems were subsequently developed via the co-modification of cell membranes from distinct sources and targeting peptides onto the NP surface. In vitro and in vivo results confirmed that the biomimetic NPs exhibited specific and highly stable fluorescence imaging performance for breast cancer. Meanwhile, the NPs could load camptothecin (CPT) to kill tumor cells, while the PDI material itself had low cytotoxicity to tumor cells. Notably, the CPT-loaded biomimetic NPs were verified to regulate macrophage polarization and the expression of caveolin-1, which provided certain guiding significance for breast cancer chemotherapy. Overall, the integration of tumor-specific targeting, fluorescent imaging, and drug delivery based on PDI materials holds great promise for advancing the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer, and further research in this area is expected to yield more effective strategies for cancer management.