Enhancement of the photokilling effect of aluminum phthalocyanine in photodynamic therapy by conjugating with nitrogen-doped TiO2 nanoparticles.
As a second-generation photodynamic therapy (PDT) photosensitizer, aluminum phthalocyanine chloride tetrasulfonate (Pc) has gained great attention due to its high absorption at the red light region. Yet, its application in PDT is strongly limited by its low cellular uptake efficiency. In this report, nitrogen-doped TiO2 nanoparticles (N-TiO2) conjugated with Pc are synthesized by a two-step surface modification method. The N-TiO2-Pc products are characterized by Zeta potential, transmission electron microscopy and UV-vis absorption spectroscopy. The cellular uptake, intracellular distribution, cytotoxicity and the photokilling effect of the nanoparticles are studied on different cancer cell lines. Compared with Pc, the absorption spectrum of N-TiO2-Pc expands from red to UV region, resulting in a higher production of reactive oxygen species under visible light irradiation. In addition, the cellular uptake of Pc is largely improved by its carrier N-TiO2. The photokilling efficiency of N-TiO2-Pc is over ten times higher than that of Pc. The results suggest that N-TiO2-Pc is an excellent candidate as a photosensitizer in PDT.
Department of Optical Science and Engineering, Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Ultra-Precision Optical Manufacturing, Green Photoelectron Platform, Key Laboratory of Micro and Nano Photonic Structures (Ministry of Education), Fudan University, 220 Handan Road, Shanghai 200433, PR China.
Xiaobo
X
Pan
Department of Optical Science and Engineering, Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Ultra-Precision Optical Manufacturing, Green Photoelectron Platform, Key Laboratory of Micro and Nano Photonic Structures (Ministry of Education), Fudan University, 220 Handan Road, Shanghai 200433, PR China.
Jin
J
Xie
Department of Optical Science and Engineering, Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Ultra-Precision Optical Manufacturing, Green Photoelectron Platform, Key Laboratory of Micro and Nano Photonic Structures (Ministry of Education), Fudan University, 220 Handan Road, Shanghai 200433, PR China.
Zheng
Z
Li
Department of Optical Science and Engineering, Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Ultra-Precision Optical Manufacturing, Green Photoelectron Platform, Key Laboratory of Micro and Nano Photonic Structures (Ministry of Education), Fudan University, 220 Handan Road, Shanghai 200433, PR China.
Maxin
M
Chen
Department of Optical Science and Engineering, Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Ultra-Precision Optical Manufacturing, Green Photoelectron Platform, Key Laboratory of Micro and Nano Photonic Structures (Ministry of Education), Fudan University, 220 Handan Road, Shanghai 200433, PR China.
Mengyan
M
Wang
Department of Optical Science and Engineering, Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Ultra-Precision Optical Manufacturing, Green Photoelectron Platform, Key Laboratory of Micro and Nano Photonic Structures (Ministry of Education), Fudan University, 220 Handan Road, Shanghai 200433, PR China.
Pei-Nan
PN
Wang
School of Arts and Sciences, MCPHS University, Boston, MA, USA.
Li
L
Chen
Department of Optical Science and Engineering, Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Ultra-Precision Optical Manufacturing, Green Photoelectron Platform, Key Laboratory of Micro and Nano Photonic Structures (Ministry of Education), Fudan University, 220 Handan Road, Shanghai 200433, PR China. Electronic address: lanmi@fudan.edu.cn.
Lan
L
Mi
D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects / Q000528:radiation effects; D006367:HeLa Cells; D006801:Humans; D007211:Indoles / Q000737:chemistry*; D008027:Light; D018613:Microscopy, Confocal / Q000379:methods; D017348:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning Transmission; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D009584:Nitrogen / Q000737:chemistry*; D009942:Organometallic Compounds / Q000737:chemistry*; D010778:Photochemotherapy / Q000379:methods*; D017319:Photosensitizing Agents / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000494:pharmacology; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species / Q000378:metabolism; D013053:Spectrophotometry; D014025:Titanium / Q000737:chemistry*
D007211:Indoles; D009942:Organometallic Compounds; D017319:Photosensitizing Agents; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species; C048577:aluminum tetrasulfophthalocyanine; C009495:titanium dioxide; D014025:Titanium; D009584:Nitrogen
Photodynamic therapy; Photosensitizer; Phthalocyanine; Reactive oxygen species; Titanium dioxide; Visible light photokilling effect