Monitorable Mitochondria-Targeting DNAtrain for Image-Guided Synergistic Cancer Therapy

It is highly desirable to realize real-time monitoring of the drug delivery/release process in cancer treatment. Herein, a monitorable mitochondria specific DNAtrain (MitoDNAtrs) was developed for image-guided drug delivery and synergistic cancer therapy. In this system, mitochondria-targeting Cy5.5 dye served as the locomotive to guide the DNA vehicle selectively accumulating in the cancer cells in a detectable manner. More importantly, Cy5.5 showed reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation ability, which made it a promising adjuvant chemotherapy amplifier for cancer theranostics.