2018

Tuning pharmacokinetics to improve tumor accumulation of a prostate-specific membrane antigen-targeted phototheranostic agent

Harmatys KM, Overchuk M, Chen J, Ding L, Chen Y, Pomper MG & Zheng G Bioconjugate Chemistry, 2018 DOI: 10.1021/acs.bioconjchem.8b00636 We describe a simple and effective bioconjugation strategy to extend the plasma circulation of a low molecular weight targeted phototheranostic agent, which achieves high tumor accumulation (9.74 ± 2.26 %ID/g)Continue Reading

Threshold-dependent nonlinear scattering from porphyrin nanobubbles for vascular and extravascular applications

Pellow C, Acconcia CN, Zheng G & Goertz DE Physics in Medicine and Biology, 2018 DOI: 10.1088/1361-6560/aae571 Nanobubbles hold potential for expanding utility of ultrasound contrast-based applications to extravascular targets, but their acoustic response and the effects of the surrounding environment remain relatively unexplored. Here we investigate the dynamics ofContinue Reading

Mixed and matched metallo-nanotexaphyrin for customizable biomedical imaging

Keca JM, Valic MS, Cheng MHY, Jian W, Overchuk M, Chen J & Zheng G Advanced Healthcare Materials, 2018 DOI: 10.1002/adhm.201800857 The discovery and synthesis of multifunctional organic building blocks for nanoparticles have remained challenging. Texaphyrin macrocycles are multifunctional, all‐organic compounds that possess versatile metal‐chelation capabilities and unique theranostics propertiesContinue Reading

Advanced photosensitizer activation strategies for smarter photodynamic therapy beacons

Luby BM, Walsh, CD & Zheng G Angewandte Chemie, 2018 DOI: 10.1002/ange.201805246 Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a clinical treatment in which a light‐absorbing drug called a photosensitizer is combined with light and molecular oxygen to generate cytotoxic singlet oxygen. PDT provides additional tissue selectivity versus conventional chemotherapy in that singletContinue Reading

Multi‐pronged biomimetic approach to create optically tunable nanoparticles

Harmatys K, Chen J, Charron DM, MacLaughlin CM & Zheng G Angewandte Chemie, 2018 DOI: 10.1002/ange.201803535 Biomimetics are reconstructions of natural systems in engineered forms to exploit their structural or functional properties. Current biomimetics for medical applications use a single biomimetic approach to imitate natural structures, which can be insufficientContinue Reading

Nanomedicine development guided by FRET imaging

Charron DM & Zheng G Nano Today, 2018 DOI: 10.1016/j.nantod.2017.12.006 Nano-bio interactions are dynamic, interrelated, and overwhelmingly influence nanomedicine efficacy. Molecular imaging techniques such as fluorescence are essential for illuminating the nano-bio interface to guide nanomedicine development. With advances in reliable labelling of nanoparticles with fluorophores, integrated Förster resonance energyContinue Reading