Strategies for increasing solubility of porphyrins in aqueous media

Abstract

The development of cancer treatment technology has promoted the strategy and application of photosensitizers. The unique structural characteristics of porphyrin photosensitizers show strong photodynamic therapy and photothermal therapy capabilities for cancer treatment, and excellent imaging capabilities for cancer diagnosis and localization. However, many factors such as poor water solubility, easy aggregation, poor bioavailability of porphyrin compounds limit their clinical application. This paper reviews the methods by introduction of ions, the hydrophilic structure of porphyrin compounds and the preparation of porphyrin nano-particles to improve the solubility of porphyrin. This paper reviews the methods of improving solubility of porphyrin such as in-troduction of ions or hydrophilic structure, preparation of nanoparticles.