Ng KK, Takada M, Jin CC & Zheng G Bioconjugate Chemistry, 2015 Porphysomes are highly quenched unilamellar porphyrin–lipid nanovesicles with structurally dependent photothermal properties. The high packing density of porphyrin molecules in the lipid bilayer enables their application in photothermal therapy, whereas the partial disruption of the porphysome structure overContinue Reading
MacDonald TD, Zheng G Photonics & Lasers in Medicine, 2014 DOI: 10.1515/plm-2013-0059 Porphysomes are an emerging class of photonic nanoparticles formed from the self-assembly of porphyrin-lipid conjugates. They retain the multifunctional properties of their porphyrin building blocks but also have unique properties emerging from the nanostructure itself. Porphysomes are able to actContinue Reading
Ng KK, Shakiba M, Huynh E, Weersink R, Roxin A, Wilson BC & Zheng G ACS Nano, 2014 Photoacoustic imaging provides high-resolution images at depths beyond the optical diffusion limit. To broaden its utility, there is need for molecular sensors capable of detecting environmental stimuli through alterations in photoacoustic signal.Continue Reading
MacDonald TD, Liu TW & Zheng G Angewandte Chemie International Edition, 2014 Photothermal therapy makes use of photothermal sensitizers and laser light to thermally ablate diseased tissues. Porphysome nanoparticles offer a nontoxic alternative to inorganic nanocrystals for the efficient conversion of light into heat. Mn3+ ions were incorporated directly intoContinue Reading
Huynh E & Zheng G IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Quantum Electronics, 2014 Biophotonic nanoparticles have been of increasing interest for their ability to both image and treat disease. The majority of biophotonic nanoparticles developed have been inorganic in nature. Only recently has there been an increase in theContinue Reading
Jin CS, Lovell JF & Zheng G Journal of Visualized Experiments, 2013 We developed novel intrinsic multifunctional nanovesicles called porphysomes, which have structure-dependent fluorescence self-quenching and unique photothermal properties, thus functioning as potent photothermal therapy agents. We formulated porphysomes using high pressure extrusion and investigated their photothermal therapy efficacy inContinue Reading
Liu TW, Macdonald TD, Jin CS, Gold JM, Bristow RG, Wilson BC & Zheng G ACS Nano, 2013 Prostate cancer is the most common cancer among men and the second cause of male cancer-related deaths. There are currently three critical needs in prostate cancer imaging to personalize cancer treatment: (1)Continue Reading
Jin CS, Lovell JF, Chen J & Zheng G ACS Nano, 2013 Tumor hypoxia is increasingly being recognized as a characteristic feature of solid tumors and significantly complicates many treatments based on radio-, chemo-, and phototherapies. While photodynamic therapy (PDT) is based on photosensitizer interactions with diffused oxygen, photothermal therapyContinue Reading
Liu TW, MacDonald TD, Shi J, Wilson BC & Zheng G Angewandte Chemie International Edition, 2012 PET friendly: Labels for PET imaging are incorporated into completely organic porphysomes by using a fast (30 min), one-pot, high-yielding (>95 %) procedure to produce highly stable (>48 h) radiolabeled nanoparticles that show the highest specific activityContinue Reading
Lovell JF, Jin CS, Huynh E, MacDonald TD, Cao W & Zheng G Angewandte Chemie International Edition, 2012 A select few: An enzyme screen is used to identify two enzymes that selectively cleave porphyrin–lipid regioisomers (see picture). Either of the isomerically pure conjugates assembles into physically similar porphysome nanovesicles. AlthoughContinue Reading
