Mitochondrion-Anchored Photosensitizer with Near Infrared-I Aggregation-Induced Emission for Near Infrared-II Two-Photon Photodynamic Therapy.

Abstract

Two-photon photodynamic therapy (2P-PDT) that employs photosensitizers (PSs) with 2P absorption is particularly intriguing in cancer treatment, in that 2P excitation enables precise spatial localization and deep tissue penetration. Here, a donor-π-acceptor PS (named TPBPy) with near infrared (NIR) aggregation-induced emission (AIE) is designed and synthesized for imaging-guided 2P-PDT. The maximal photoluminescence (PL) peak of TPBPy is as high as 720 nm when it is encapsulated in liposomes. Upon 2P irradiation by a laser in NIR-II window (λ = 1000 nm), TPBPy exhibits strong NIR-I PL in a multicellular tumor spheroids (MCTSs) model, showing an imaging depth of 210 µm that is significantly higher than upon one-photon irradiation. Moreover, TPBPy localizes specifically on mitochondrion, an important organelle in cell oxidative metabolism and apoptosis. When exposed to the NIR-II irradiation, TPBPy can efficiently generate singlet oxygen (1 O2 ) and trigger cell death. The efficacy of TPBPy-mediated 2P-PDT has also been validated using 4T1 tumor mouse model, the growth of which is significantly suppressed upon NIR-II laser irradiation. TPBPy herein serves as an excellent candidate to suppress deep tumor tissues through NIR-II 2P-PDT, and also renders a new paradigm to construct mitochondrion-anchored AIE luminogens for future cancer theranostic applications.

• Authors: Zhenyan He, Yuting Gao, Huimin Zhang, Ying Xue, Fanling Meng, Liang Luo
• Journal: Advanced healthcare materials (Adv Healthc Mater) Vol. 10 Issue 24 Pg. e2101056 (12 2021) ISSN: 2192-2659 [Electronic] Germany
• PMID: 34569175 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)
• Copyright: © 2021 Wiley-VCH GmbH.

Chemical References

• Photosensitizing Agents
• Singlet Oxygen

Topics

• Animals
• Mice
• Mitochondria
• Photochemotherapy
• Photons
• Photosensitizing Agents (pharmacology)
• Singlet Oxygen