We developed a pH dependent amino heptamethine cyanine based theranostic probe (I2-IR783-Mpip) that can be activated by near infrared light. I2-IR783-Mpip, in acidic condition, exhibited an intense, broad NIR absorption band (820–950 nm) with high singlet oxygen generation upon exposure to NIR light (~850 nm). Theoretical calculations showed that the protonation of the probe in an acidic environment decreased the molecular orbital energy gaps and increased the intramolecular charge transfer efficiency. I2-IR783-Mpip exhibited good photodynamic efficiency towards liver hepatocellular carcinoma cells under physiological and slightly acidic conditions while normal human embryonic kidney cells remained alive under the same conditions. Detection of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) in cells treated with I2-IR783-Mpip after NIR light exposure confirmed PDT efficiency of the probe in acidic environment. Moreover, I2-IR783-Mpip also demonstrated efficient phototoxicity under deep-seated tumour cell system. We believed this is the first PDT agent that possesses intrinsic tumour binding and selectively eradicate tumour in acidic environment under 850 nm NIR lamp.

Rationale: Nanoparticles (NPs) that are rapidly eliminated from the body offer great potential in clinical test. Renal excretion of small particles is preferable over other clearance pathways to minimize potential toxicity. Thus, there is a significant demand to prepare ultra-small theranostic agents with renal clearance behaviors.Method: In this work, we report a facile method to prepare NPs with ultra-small size that show renal clearable behavior for imaging-guided photodynamic therapy (PDT). Pyropheophorbide-a (Pa), a deep red photosensitizer was functionalized with polyethylene glycol (PEG) to obtain Pa-PEG. The prepared NPs formed ultra-small nanodots in aqueous solution and showed red-shifted absorbance that enabling efficient singlet oxygen generation upon light irradiation.Results: In vitro studies revealed good photodynamic therapy (PDT) effect of these Pa-PEG nanodots. Most of the cancer cells incubated with Pa-PEG nanodots were destroyed after being exposed to the irradiated light. Utilizing the optical properties of such Pa-PEG nanodots, in vivo photoacoustic (PA) and fluorescence (FL) imaging techniques were used to assess the optimal time for PDT treatment after intravenous (i.v.) injection of the nanodots. As monitored by the PA/FL dual-modal imaging, the nanodots could accumulate at the tumor site and reach the maximum concentration at 8 h post injection. Finally, the tumors on mice treated with Pa-PEG nanodots were effectively inhibited by PDT treatment. Moreover, Pa-PEG nanodots showed high PA/FL signals in kidneys implying these ultra-small nanodots could be excreted out of the body via renal clearance.Conclusion: We demonstrated the excellent properties of Pa-PEG nanodots that can be an in vivo imaging-guided PDT agent with renal clearable behavior for potential future clinical translation.

A new series of aza-BODIPYs (CNÀ X) with significantly redshifted absorbances were designed and synthesized by installation of various electron-donating groups on the para-positions of 3,5-phenyl groups while strong electron-withdrawing groups (nitrile groups) were fixed on the para-positions of 1,7-phenyl moieties. Interestingly, strong electron-donating groups such as N'N-dimethylaniline (CNÀ NMe 2) could provide strong NIR absorption up to 857 nm and weak fluorescence emission up to 967 nm, whereas strong evidence supported heat production via non-radiative decay after excitation. Electrochemical studies revealed that the substituents on the dyes showed strong effects on the oxidation potentials where the oxidation wave of CNÀ NMe 2 occurred at the lowest overpotential, followed by CNÀ OMe, CNÀ Me, CNÀ Br and CNÀ H, respectively. Calculations were also performed to understand the push-pull effect of the substituents on the aza-BODIPY systems. Finally, applications of dyes in NIR cancer cell imaging and the NIR-II photothermal effect were also investigated.

The mechanisms of the photodissociation of single isolated methanol (CH3OH) molecules in the lowest singlet-excited (S1) state were systematically studied using the complete active-space second-order perturbation theory (CASPT2) and transition state theory (TST). This theoretical study focused on the nonradiative relaxation processes that transform the S0 → S1 vertically excited molecule to the products in their respective electronic ground states. The results confirmed that O–H dissociation is the predominant exothermic process and that the formation of formaldehyde (CH2O), in which the O–H dissociated species are the precursors for the reaction in the S0 state, is the second most favorable process. For C–O dissociation, the theoretical results suggested a thermally excited precursor in a different Franck–Condon region in the S0 state, from which vertical excitation leads to a transition structure in the S1 state and spontaneously to the [CH3]· and [OH]· products in their electronic ground states. The CASPT2 and TST results also revealed the possibility of [CH3OH] → [CH2OH2] isomerization dissociation, in which another thermally excited precursor is vertically excited, and C–O dissociation and intermolecular proton transfer lead to the singlet and triplet [CH2]–[H2O] H-bond complexes in their electronic ground states. Although sufficient thermal energy to generate the precursors in the S0 state is available and the reactions are kinetically feasible at high temperatures, the strongly kinetically controlled O–H dissociation predominates the C–O and [CH3OH] → [CH2OH2] isomerization dissociations. The present results verified and confirmed the reported theoretical and experimental findings and provided insights into the thermal selectivity and interplay between thermal excitation and photoexcitation.

A targeted strategy for treating cancer is antibody-directed enzyme prodrug therapy, where the enzyme attached to the antibody causes conversion of an inactive small-molecule prodrug into an active drug. A limitation may be the diffusion of the active drug away from the antibody target site. A related strategy with radiotherapeutics entails enzymatically promoted conversion of a soluble to insoluble radiotherapeutic agent, thereby immobilizing the latter at the target site. Such a molecular brachytherapy has been scarcely investigated. In distinct research, the advent of molecular designs for aggregation-induced emission (AIE) suggests translational use in molecular brachytherapy. Here, several 2-(2-hydroxyphenyl)benzothiazole substrates that readily aggregate in aqueous solution (and afford AIE) were elaborated in this regard. In particular, (1) the 2-(2-hydroxyphenyl) unit was derivatized to bear a pegylated phosphodiester that imparts water solubility yet undergoes enzymatic cleavage, and (2) a p-phenol unit was attached to the benzo moiety to provide a reactive site for final-step iodination (here examined with natural abundance iodide). The pegylated phosphodiester-iodinated benzothiazole undergoes conversion from aqueous-soluble to aqueous-insoluble upon treatment with a phosphatase or phosphodiesterase. The aggregation is essential to molecular brachytherapy, whereas the induced emission of AIE is not essential but provides a convenient basis for research development. Altogether, 21 compounds were synthesized (18 new, 3 known via new routes). Taken together, blending biomedical strategies of enzyme prodrug therapy with materials chemistry concerning substances that undergo AIE may comprise a step forward on the long road toward molecular brachytherapy.