Donor–Acceptor Engineering for Tailoring Highly Efficient Photosensitizers for Image-Guided Antitumor Photodynamic Therapy

Abstract

Photosensitizers (PSs) have greatly flourished as a promising tool for photodynamic therapy owing to their integration of both in situ diagnosis and treatment in a single nanoplatform. However, there is still a need to explore synthesis pathways that can result in high-performance PSs with good reproducibility, high yield, less dark toxicity, and an attractive therapeutic index. Therefore, by exploiting the precise molecular engineering guideline, this work unveils a straightforward protocol to fabricate three homologous PSs (TPA-T-RS, TPA-Ts-RS, and TPA-Ts-RCN) with aggregation-induced emission (AIE) characteristics. Through slight structural tuning, the PSs are capable of anchoring to the cell membrane, mitochondria, and lysosome, and effectively generating reactive oxygen species (ROS). More importantly, TPA-Ts-RCN proved an intuitively appealing imaging-guided photodynamic therapy (PDT) effect. This work is expected to add a promising dimension to the field of architecting AIE PSs for image-guided photodynamic therapy.

Gemcitabine-Vitamin E Prodrug-Loaded Micelles for Pancreatic Cancer Therapy

“…Their hydrophilic–lipophilic balance (HLB) value is within 20–29 and the PPO chain length of Pluronic ® F127 is twice that of Pluronic ® F68 [ 48 , 49 ]. Recently, mixed Pluronic ® F68 micelles were loaded with docetaxel (20 mg/mL F68, 2% w / v ; 0.8 mg/mL docetaxel, 0.08% w / v ) [ 52 ] and curcumin (5 mg/mL F68, 0.5% w / v ; 1 mg/mL curcumin, 0.1% w / v ) [ 53 ] and Pluronic ® F127 (F127) micelles were investigated for delivery of curcumin (20 mg/mL of F127, 2% w / v ; 0.1 mg/mL, 0.01% w / v curcumin) [ 54 ], alpha-lipoic acid (20 mg/mL of F127, 2% w / v ; 10 mg/mL, 1% w / v ) [ 55 ], hypericin [ 56 ], β-escin (5 mg/mL F127, 0.5% w / v , 5 mg/mL β-escin, 0.5% w / v ) [ 57 ], boron-dipyrromethene dimer [ 58 ], lenvantinib [ 59 ], and a photosensitizer (1.11 mg/mL F127, 0.11% w / v ) [ 60 ], hence comprising biofunctional and suitable delivery systems for loading poorly water-soluble drugs with enhanced stability. Mixed Pluronic ® micelles have also been reported in the literature as a means to increase the solubility profile of poorly water-soluble drugs [ 61 , 62 ].…”

TME-Triggered Degradable Phototheranostic Nanoplatform for NIR-II Fluorescence Bioimaging-Guided Phototherapies and Immune Activation

“…PDT, akin to PTT, employs photosensitizers to generate cytotoxic reactive oxygen species (ROS) upon light exposure, damaging tumor cells by disrupting cell membranes and intracellular biomacromolecules. − In addition, it has been reported that ROS can inhibit the activity of HSP, amplifying the effectiveness of PTT. − Compared to complex nanoplatforms loaded with both photothermal agents and photosensitizers, phototheranostic agents capable of generating both ROS and local heating offer simplicity and safety advantages in synergizing PTT and PDT. , Moreover, synergistic PTT and PDT induce stronger immunogenic cell death (ICD) response, which is characterized by the release of damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs) such as calreticulin (CRT) exposure, extracellular release of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), and high mobility group box B1 (HMGB1), and release tumor-associated antigens, activating the immune system and facilitating tumor eradication. − …”