Biodegradable ICG-Conjugated Germanium Nanoparticles for In Vivo Near-Infrared Dual-Modality Imaging and Photothermal Therapy
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High Resolution Image Download MS PowerPoint Slide Theranostics, by integrating diagnosis and therapy on a single platform, enables real-time monitoring of tumors during treatment. To improve the accuracy of tumor diagnosis, the fluorescence and photoacoustic imaging modalities can complement each other to achieve high resolution and a deep penetration depth. Despite the superior performance, the biodegradability of theranostic agents plays a critical role in enhancing nanoparticle excretion and reducing chronic toxicity, which is essential for clinical applications. Herein, we synthesize biocompatible and biodegradable indocyanine green (ICG)-conjugated germanium nanoparticles (GeNPs) and investigate their biodistributions in nude mice and 4T1 tumor models after intravenous injections using near-infrared (NIR) dual-modality fluorescence and photoacoustic imaging. The ICG-conjugated GeNPs have strong NIR absorption due to the NIR-absorbing ICG and Ge in combination, emit strong NIR fluorescence due to the multilayered ICG coatings, and exhibit very low in vitro and in vivo toxicity. After tail vein injections, the ICG-conjugated GeNPs mainly accumulate in the liver and spleen as well as the tumor with the help of the enhanced permeability and retention effect. The tumor’s fluorescence signal is much stronger than that of the control group injected with pure ICG solution, as the GeNPs can function as biodegradable carriers for efficiently delivering the ICG molecules to the tumor. Lastly, the ICG-conjugated GeNPs accumulated in the tumor can also be utilized for photothermal treatment under NIR laser irradiation, after which the tumor volume almost diminishes after 14 days. The experimental findings in this work demonstrate that the ICG-conjugated GeNPs are promising theranostic agents with exceptional biodegradability for in vivo NIR dual-modality imaging and photothermal therapy.
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ICG, the only FDA-approved Cy7 dye, emits primarily within the NIR-I window at approximately 800 nm.
“For instance, ICG, the only Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved Cy7 dye, emits primarily within the NIR-I window (~ 800 nm)109.”
From Organic small-molecule NIR-II fluorophores for tumor phototheranostics (2026) · cites this paper as [109]
The Introduction (page not provided) says ICG is FDA-approved and gives its emission peak as 820 nm, supporting the approximately 800 nm NIR-I emission claim. It does not identify ICG as a Cy7 dye or say it is the only FDA-approved one. (LLM, conf=0.88)
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- Authors
- Chen, G., He, P., Ma, C., Xu, J., Su, T., Wen, J., Kuo, H.-C., Jing, L., Chen, S.-L., & Tu, C.-C.
- Affiliations
- University of Michigan-Shanghai Jiao Tong University Joint Institute
- Shanghai Jiao Tong University (CN)
- Foxconn (United States) (US)
- Corresponding author
- Jing, Lili
- Chen, Sung-Liang
- Tu, Chang-Ching
- Venue
- ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces
- Publisher
- American Chemical Society (ACS)
- Published
- 2024-10-24
- Volume
- 16
- Issue
- 44
- Pages
- 59752-59764
- ISSN
- 1944-8244 (ISSN-L)
- 1944-8252
- PMC
- PMC11551961
- OpenAlex
- W4403705788
- Cited by
- 19
- References
- 48
- Citations by year
- 2026: 10 · 2025: 9
- FWCI
- 2.08
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Natural Science Foundation of Shanghai Municipality (22ZR1428900)
- Science and Technology Commission of Shanghai Municipality (2021SHZDZX)
- Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (20210402, YQ2022QN062)
- National Natural Science Foundation of China (62235013, 82130057)
- Hon Hai Research Institute
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Biomedical Engineering › Nanoplatforms for cancer theranostics
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Biomedical Engineering › Photoacoustic and Ultrasonic Imaging
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and Imaging › Optical Imaging and Spectroscopy Techniques
- Keywords
- germanium nanoparticles, indocyanine green, theranostics, biodegradable nanoparticles, near-infrared fluorescence imaging, photoacoustic imaging, dual-modality imaging, photothermal therapy, tissue distribution, enhanced permeability and retention effect, tumor targeting, 4T1 breast cancer, nanoparticle toxicity
- MeSH terms
- Theranostic Nanomedicine, Photothermal Therapy, Animals, Female, Germanium, Humans, Indocyanine Green, Infrared Rays, Mice, Inbred BALB C, Mice, Nude, Tissue Distribution, Cell Line, Tumor, Mice, Nanoparticles, Metal Nanoparticles, Photoacoustic Techniques, Optical Imaging
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