POS4-1453
Stable and Highly Loaded Indocyanine Green J-Aggregate Nanosuspensions for Photothermal Therapy
Topic
S4. Colloids, Interfaces, and Molecular Assemblies for Functional Soft Materials
When and Where
Oct 1, 2026
08:30 - 09:30
Room 301 (Grand Ballroom)
Session Chairs
Jinkee HONG
Ki Su KIM
Presenter(s)
Yeeri Kim (Seoul National University)
Co-Author(s)
Abstract
Indocyanine green (ICG) has attracted considerable attention as a near-infrared photothermal agent for photothermal therapy (PTT) and photoacoustic imaging (PAI). Although J-aggregated ICG (J-ICG) exhibits enhanced thermal stability, photothermal conversion, and quantum efficiency compared with free ICG, its practical application remains limited by the short circulation time of ICG-based systems.
In this study, a Poly-L-lysine (PLL)-based nanosuspension was developed by exploiting the electrostatic interaction between the amine groups of PLL and the sulfonic acid groups of J-ICG through a wet media milling process. By systematically optimizing the milling formulation and processing conditions, nanosuspensions with an average particle size of approximately 320 nm (319.7 ± 101.0 nm) were successfully fabricated. The characteristic J-aggregate structure was retained after milling, while the top-down fabrication strategy enabled high drug loading amounts of 64.3% and 71.1% at PLL:J-ICG weight ratios of 1:1 and 1:2, respectively.
Furthermore, in vitro photothermal conversion studies demonstrated that PLL@J-ICG achieved a maximum temperature comparable to that of J-ICG at the same concentration, indicating that the milling process preserved the photothermal properties of J-ICG. These findings suggest that PLL@J-ICG nanosuspensions prepared via wet media milling represent a promising platform for future PTT and PAI applications.
In this study, a Poly-L-lysine (PLL)-based nanosuspension was developed by exploiting the electrostatic interaction between the amine groups of PLL and the sulfonic acid groups of J-ICG through a wet media milling process. By systematically optimizing the milling formulation and processing conditions, nanosuspensions with an average particle size of approximately 320 nm (319.7 ± 101.0 nm) were successfully fabricated. The characteristic J-aggregate structure was retained after milling, while the top-down fabrication strategy enabled high drug loading amounts of 64.3% and 71.1% at PLL:J-ICG weight ratios of 1:1 and 1:2, respectively.
Furthermore, in vitro photothermal conversion studies demonstrated that PLL@J-ICG achieved a maximum temperature comparable to that of J-ICG at the same concentration, indicating that the milling process preserved the photothermal properties of J-ICG. These findings suggest that PLL@J-ICG nanosuspensions prepared via wet media milling represent a promising platform for future PTT and PAI applications.
