Chemical Molecule-Induced Light-Activated System for Anticancer and Antifungal Activities

Abstract

Except for chemotherapy, surgery, and radiotherapy, photodynamic therapy (PDT) as new therapy modality is already in wide clinic use for the treatment of various diseases. The major bottleneck of this technique is the requirement of outer light source, which always limits effective application of PDT to the lesions in deeper tissue. Here, we first report a new modality for treating cancer and microbial infections, which is activated by chemical molecules instead of outer light irradiation. In this system, in situ bioluminescence of luminol can be absorbed by a cationic oligo(p-phenylene vinylene) (OPV) that acts as the photosensitizer through bioluminescence resonance energy transfer (BRET) process. The excited OPV sensitizes oxygen molecule in the surroundings to produce reactive oxygen species (ROS) that kill the adjacent cancer cells in vitro and in vivo, and pathogenic microbes. By avoiding the use of light irradiation, this work opens a new therapy modality to tumor and pathogen infections.

Fluorescent chemical probes for accurate tumor diagnosis and targeting therapy

“…Wang et al developed a PDT system in which the photosensitizer was activated by bioluminescence instead of an external light source. 246 In this PDT system, luminol (92a), hydrogen peroxide, and horseradish peroxidase were used as bioluminescent molecules. Cationic oligo (p-phenylene vinylene) (OPV, 92b) was used as the photosensitizer.…”

Multifunctional upconversion–nanoparticles–trismethylpyridylporphyrin–fullerene nanocomposite: a near-infrared light-triggered theranostic platform for imaging-guided photodynamic therapy

“…1-3 Specifically, phototriggered theranostics, combining phototherapies (for example, photodynamic, 4,5 photothermal, 6,7 and phototriggered chemo 8,9 / gene therapy 10 ) with real-time photodiagnostics (for example, bioluminescence, 11 fluorescence, 12,13 and photoacoustic imaging 14,15 ) have been actively pursued due to the advantages of spatiotemporal selectivity, non-ionizing radiation and specificity for disease destruction. Among them, near-infrared (NIR) light-triggered photodynamic theranostics, in which nanoparticles are used as photodynamic therapy (PDT) agents, have recently been receiving much attention due to deep penetration and simultaneous generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) upon the NIR light irradiation, leading to ablation of cancer cells as a result.…”

Nanoparticles of Conjugated Molecules and Polymers for Biomedical Applications

“…As a therapeutic approach, CL resonance energy transfer (CRET)-based PDT was developed by combining bioluminescent molecules with a photosensitizer [143]. Cationic oligo( p-phenylene vinylene) (OPV) was synthesized for use as a photosensitizer.…”