Citation: Ke Ma, Yuanwei Wang, Guihong Lu, Miaomiao Kang, Zhijun Zhang, Ziwei Ma, Dong Wang, Ben Zhong Tang, Hui Tan. Graphene oxide-based aptamer-guided DNA tetrahedron carrier as photosensitizer delivery system for potent photodynamic therapy of liver tumor[J]. Chinese Chemical Letters, ;2026, 37(10): 112103. doi: 10.1016/j.cclet.2025.112103 shu

Graphene oxide-based aptamer-guided DNA tetrahedron carrier as photosensitizer delivery system for potent photodynamic therapy of liver tumor

Ke Ma ^a ,
Yuanwei Wang ^a ,
Guihong Lu ^a ,
Miaomiao Kang ^b ,
Zhijun Zhang ^b ,
Ziwei Ma ^a ,
Dong Wang ^b ,
Ben Zhong Tang ^{c, *,} ,
Hui Tan ^{a, *,}

a.
Shenzhen Children’s Hospital of Shantou University Medical College, Shenzhen Second People’s Hospital, Shenzhen University Health Science Center, Shenzhen 518026, China
b.
Center for AIE Research, Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Polymer Science and Technology, Guangdong Research Center for Interfacial Engineering of Functional Materials, College of Materials Science and Engineering, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, China
c.
School of Science and Engineering, Shenzhen Institute of Aggregate Science and Technology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen (CUHK-Shenzhen), Shenzhen 518172, China

tangbenz@cuhk.edu.cn

huitan@email.szu.edu.cn

Received Date: 28 July 2025
Revised Date: 10 November 2025
Accepted Date: 11 November 2025
Available Online: 17 November 2025

Figures(3)

Nano-carriers are crucial for photosensitizer targeted delivery to overcome the poor selectivity of conventional photosensitizers. Recently, aptamer-guided DNA tetrahedron has become a potential carrier due to its great biocompatibility and target identification ability. However, the in vivo photodynamic therapy (PDT) of DNA tetrahedron-based photosensitizer delivery system remains a charming yet challenging mission. This work aims to construct a high-targeted photosensitizer delivery system for enhanced PDT treatment, relying on the combination of aptamer-guided DNA tetrahedron, graphene-oxide and photosensitizer. Three aptamers are linked to a DNA tetrahedron to build an aptamer-guided nano-carrier for targeting liver tumor cells. Aggregation-induced emission-active photosensitizer, TTVP, was loaded into the nano-carriers through intercalation and hydrophobic interaction, leading to the improvement of their PDT effect. Subsequently, TTVP-loaded nano-carriers were adsorbed on the graphene-oxide surface via hydrogen bonds and π-stacking interactions to elevate their target identification ability. Consequently, a photosensitizer delivery system was obtained. It selectively aggregated on the liver tumor tissues and presented potent therapeutic efficacy via reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation. This system provides a fresh pathway for in vivo high-targeted and enhanced PDT treatment based on DNA nano-carriers.
- Aggregation-induced emission,
- DNA tetrahedron,
- Graphene-oxide,
- Fluorescence amplification,
- Photodynamic therapy,
- Liver tumor
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沈阳化工大学材料科学与工程学院沈阳 110142