Quinoidal Semiconducting Polymer Nanoparticles: An Emerging Nanoplatform for <em>In vivo</em> Photothermal Therapy
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Semiconducting polymer nanoparticles (SP NPs) could be promising candidates as therapeutic nanomaterials using the first near-infrared (NIR-I) window owing to its deep penetration depth for biological tissues and less damage to cells. Here, a quinoidal semiconducting polymer (QSP) was developed as a novel class of therapeutic agents for photothermal therapy (PTT). Owing to its intrinsic quinoid structure, it improved molecular planarity and π-electron overlapping along the conjugated backbone endowing low band gap, NIR-I absorbing and appearance of diradical features. Then, the obtained QSP was encapsulated by polyethylene glycol (PEG)-based amphiphilic matrix, affording water-dispersed and nano-sized polymer nanoparticles which consequently show high photothermal conversion efficiency (PCE) of 63.2 %, good photostability and apparent therapeutic efficacy for in vitro and in vivo PTT performance under 808 nm laser irradiation. This study demonstrates that QSPs are promising active agents for non-invasive anticancer therapy using NIR-I light.