Rod‐Shaped Liquid Plasticine as Cuttable Minireactor for Photodynamic Therapy of Tumors

• Published in: Small (Weinheim an der Bergstrasse, Germany) Vol. 20; no. 23; pp. e2309535 - n/a
• Main Authors: Liu, Heng, Peng, Chenxi, Guo, Shuaichen, Liu, Xiaowang, Li, Xiaoguang
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Germany Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01.06.2024
• Subjects: Attenuation; Cell Line, Tumor; Effectiveness; Humans; liquid marble; liquid plasticine; minireactor; Nanoparticles - chemistry; Neoplasms - drug therapy; Photochemotherapy - methods; Photodynamic therapy; Photosensitizing Agents - chemistry; Photosensitizing Agents - pharmacology; Photosensitizing Agents - therapeutic use; Plasticine; tumor cell; Tumors; liquid plasticine; tumor cell; liquid marble; minireactor; photodynamic therapy
• ISSN: 1613-6810; 1613-6829; 1613-6829
• DOI: 10.1002/smll.202309535

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) has emerged as a promising non‐invasive approach for cancer treatment. Enhancing its efficacy and understanding its absorption‐induced attenuation are significant while the solutions are limited, particularly for the latter. In this study, a rod‐shaped liquid plasticine (LP), comprised of a tumor cell solution encased by a nanoparticle monolayer, is used to serve as a powerful minireactor for addressing these issues. The channel structure, openness, and cuttability of the LP reactor are exploited for providing benefits to PDT. The resulting PDT efficacy is several times higher than those from droplet reactors with common spherical shapes. The attenuation law, which is fundamental in PDT yet poorly understood due to the lack of experimental approaches, is preliminarily uncovered here from the perspective of in vitro experiments by using the LP's cuttability, affording quantitative understanding on this difficult subject. These findings provide insights into the widely‐concerned topics in PDT, and highlight the great potential of an LP reactor in offering innovation power for the biochemical and biomedical arenas. A rod‐shaped liquid plasticine consisting of a cell solution encased with a nanoparticle shell is irradiated by a laser, for damaging the tumor cells in the solution via an oxidation process. The liquid plasticine minireactor not only benefits the enhancement of photo dynamic therapy efficacy but also affords a rare opportunity for investigating the attenuation problem of photo dynamic therapy.