Recently, the paper entitled “A single-light triggered and dual-imaging guided multifunctional platform for combined photothermal and photodynamic therapy based on TD-controlled and ICG-loaded CuS@mSiO₂” was published by Dr. Nan Li’s group and highlighted as the front cover article inNanoscale(Nanoscale 2017, 9, 3784-3796). The address of this paper is School of Pharmaceutical Science and Technology, Tianjin University. Qing You, who is the second year master student, is the first author.

This research work reported a novel 1-tetradecanol (TD)-controlled and indocyanine green (ICG)-loaded CuS@mSiO₂phototherapy nanoplatform. The CuS@mSiO₂nanoparticles could serve as drug-delivery vehicles to transport the NIR absorbing phototherapeutic agent (ICG) within the mesoporous cavities. The phase-change molecule, TD, was innovatively introduced as a thermosensitive gatekeeper to avoid the premature release of loaded ICG. The combined therapy could be irradiated at an 808 nm single-light to performe the photothermal therapy (PTT) based on CuS@mSiO₂as well as photodynamic (PDT)/PTT effect based on ICG. Furthermore, ICG also had the function of dual in vivo fluorescence imaging and photoacoustic (PA) imaging. So, this dual imaging-guided and gatekeeper-controlled nanoplatform for the combined PTT/PDT treatment could hold significant promise for future cancer therapy.

Nanoscale(IF: 7.76) is a TOP journal in the field of engineering technology, which belongs to 1^stdivision categories according to the Chinese academy of sciences. As a leading journal in the field of nanomaterials,Nanoscalehas high influence as well as good reputation.