The application of engineered bacteria-based drug delivery vehicles to treat cancer has been practiced for more than a century. Mitochondria, evolutionarily originated from bacteria, are ubiquitous, semi-autonomous cellular organelles. In this study, we present the first exploration of using mitochondria as a delivery system of carbon quantum dots (CQDs) for in vivo imaging and administration of the anticancer drug doxorubicin (DOX). The results show that mitochondria as carriers are compatible with CQD loading and preserve the optical properties of CQDs. Moreover, the mitochondria delivery system can improve the CQD bio-distribution in organs and prolong the retention time of CQDs after intravenous injection. Furthermore, mitochondria loaded with doxorubicin hydrochloride (Mito-DOX) show an enhanced therapeutic effect compared to free DOX. The mitochondria-based “aircraft” system may be a promising novel therapeutic platform with high potential for biological imaging and drug delivery to fight cancer and other diseases.

中文翻译：

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基于线粒体的航空母舰增强了碳量子点的体内成像和抗癌药物的递送†

一个多世纪以来，基于工程细菌的药物递送载体在治疗癌症方面的应用已被实践。线粒体进化起源于细菌，是普遍存在的半自主细胞器。在这项研究中，我们首次探索了使用线粒体作为体内碳量子点 (CQD) 的传递系统抗癌药物阿霉素（DOX）的成像和给药。结果表明，作为载体的线粒体与 CQD 负载兼容并保留了 CQD 的光学特性。此外，线粒体递送系统可以改善CQD在器官中的生物分布，延长CQD在静脉注射后的保留时间。此外，与游离 DOX 相比，负载阿霉素盐酸盐 (Mito-DOX) 的线粒体显示出增强的治疗效果。基于线粒体的“飞机”系统可能是一个很有前途的新型治疗平台，具有很高的生物成像和药物输送潜力，可对抗癌症和其他疾病。