ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Chem.
Sec. Medicinal and Pharmaceutical Chemistry
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fchem.2025.1659283
Manganese-Doped Nanotheranostic System for MRI-Guided Photothermal Therapy of Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma: In Vivo Study
Provisionally accepted
- 1The First Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University, Kunming, China
- 2Affiliated Calmette Hospital of Kunming Medical University, Kunming, China
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Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-guided photothermal therapy (PTT) holds significant promise for treating solid tumors, however, its efficacy against malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) remains largely unexplored. Additionally, conventional gadolinium (Gd)-based MRI contrast agents face limitations due to nephrogenic systemic fibrosis risks and T1 signal attenuation at high magnetic fields. In contrast, manganese (Mn)-based nanomaterials offer a compelling alternative as essential trace elements with superior T1 contrast capabilities. However, early Mn agents were compromised by premature Mn(II) ion leakage from inadequate encapsulation, causing oxidative stress damage in normal tissues.To address this challenge, we developed Mn-PDA nanospheres with enhanced stability by optimizing the dopamine-to-Mn(II) ratio. Furthermore, the polydopamine shell provides dual advantages: acid-responsive degradation for controlled Mn release at the tumor site and potent reactive oxygen species (ROS)-scavenging properties to protect normal tissues from nonspecific damage. In vitro and in vivo assessments reveal that the developed nanoprobe achieves remarkable T1-weighted MRI signal enhancement in MPM tumor tissues by up to 42.9% at 8 hours post-injection, enabling dynamic MRI monitoring. Additionally, when combined with near-infrared (NIR-I) irradiation, the nanoparticles exhibited 2 potent tumor-suppressive effects while maintaining excellent biosafety. Overall, this Mn-PDA nanoplatform presents an advanced theranostic strategy for accurately diagnosing and effectively treating MPM.
Keywords: malignant pleural mesothelioma, Photothermal therapy (PTT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), polydopamine, Manganese(II)
Received: 03 Jul 2025; Accepted: 21 Aug 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 LEI, ZI, KANG, DUAN, Zhang, GAO, XU and Han. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Dan Han, The First Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University, Kunming, China
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