title: Specific light-up bioprobe with aggregation-induced emission and activatable photoactivity for the targeted and image-guided photodynamic ablation of cancer cells.
abstract: Activatable photosensitizers (PSs) have been widely used for the simultaneous fluorescence imaging and photodynamic ablation of cancer cells. However, the ready aggregation of traditional PSs in aqueous media can lead to fluorescence quenching as well as reduced phototoxicity even in the activated form. We have developed a series of PSs that show aggregation-enhanced emission and phototoxicity and thus the exact opposite behavior to that of previously reported PSs. We further developed a dual-targeted enzyme-activatable bioprobe based on the optimized photosensitizer and describe simultaneous light-up fluorescence imaging and activated photodynamic therapy for specific cancer cells. The design of smart probes should thus open new opportunities for targeted and image-guided photodynamic therapy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, National University of Singapore, 4 Engineering Drive 4, Singapore, 117585 (Singapore).
authors.forename: Youyong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yuan
authors.forename: Chong-Jing
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Meng
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.forename: Ruoyu
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Ben Zhong
authors.initials: BZ
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.forename: Bin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Liu
mesh_terms: D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D006801:Humans; D008027:Light; D018613:Microscopy, Confocal; D015335:Molecular Probes; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology; D010778:Photochemotherapy
chemical_list: D015335:Molecular Probes
keywords: aggregation-induced emission (AIE); cancer; fluorescence imaging; image-guided therapy; photodynamic therapy