Developing high-performance polymer donors are highly demanded to fulfil the potential of the layer-by-layer (LBL) processed organic solar cells (OSCs). In this study, we present an effective method to develop...
Naphthalenothiophene
imide (NTI), bearing six-membered imide and
a five-membered aromatic ring, was synthesized by a one-step Suzuki
reaction in high yield. NTI is an electron-deficient monomer that
could effectively lower the HOMO energy level of the polymer. Thus,
the NTI-based polymer PNTB1 has a low-lying HOMO energy level (−5.42
eV) without introducing any F or Cl group into the polymer backbone.
By mixing with a nonfullerene electron acceptor Y6, solar cell devices
exhibit power conversion efficiency as high as 15.18%. Because of
the high efficiency of the NTI-based polymer and avoidance of multi-step
synthesis of introducing other electron-accepting groups into the
polymer chain, the electron-deficient NTI is a promising building
unit for high-performance polymer donors.
Small interfering RNA (siRNA) holds immense promise for suppressing gene expression and treating various life‐threatening diseases, including cancer. However, efficient delivery and lysosomal escape remain critical challenges that hinder the therapeutic effectiveness of siRNA. Herein, cationic photosensitizer (NB‐Br) is grafted onto polo‐like kinase 1 (PLK1) siRNA to form an amphiphilic siRNA‐photosensitizer conjugate (siPLK1‐NB), which can self‐assemble into nanoparticles (siPLK1‐NB NPs) via electrostatic attraction. Notably, siPLK1‐NB NPs exhibit rapid and efficient cell endocytosis, as well as outstanding tumor‐targeting property in multiple tumor‐bearing mice models. When siPLK1‐NB NPs are located inside tumor cell lysosomes, the generated reactive oxygen species (ROS) after photoactivation can disrupt the lysosome membrane structure and facilitate siRNA escape from lysosomes. Under light irradiation, siPLK1‐NB NPs can downregulate PLK1 expression and induce photodynamic killing, effectively inhibiting tumor cell growth both in vitro and in vivo. Consequently, this study provides a novel design strategy for carrier‐free siRNA delivery systems. As far as it is known, this is the first report of a carrier‐free siRNA delivery system based on electrostatic attraction.
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