Multidimensional Theranostics for Tumor Fluorescence Imaging, Photoacoustic Imaging and Photothermal Treatment Based on Manganese Doped Carbon Dots

Multidimensional theranostics have received a lot of attention because of their improved diagnostic accuracy and therapeutic diversity. In this study, we developed a kind of manganese doped nigrosine originated carbon dots (Mn-NCDs), with the average particle size of approximate 3 nm and the long emission wavelength of 653 nm. In vitro experiment demonstrated that Mn-NCDs could be well internalized by 4T1 cells, and the temperature of Mn-NCDs solution could rapidly rise from 23.1 °C to more than 50 °C when exposed to NIR laser, thus it could generate enough hyperthermia to efficiently destroy 4T1 cells. Furthermore, the in vivo fluorescent and photoacoustic imaging studies highlighted the applicability of Mn-NCDs in dual-mode tumor diagnosis. The prepared Mn-NCDs with long emission wavelength and photothermal anti-cancer effect exhibited great potential for dual-mode imaging and treatment of triple negative breast cancer.