Microbial‐Enabled Photosynthetic Oxygenation for Disease Treatment

Abstract

Oxygen as one of the most critical substances in living organisms has attracted ever‐increasing attention in disease treatment, which is important in regulating metabolic activities. However, the hypoxia arising from disease is a prevalent problem, leading to observably reduced therapeutic effectiveness in photodynamic therapy, radiotherapy, sonodynamic therapy, etc. Therefore, the reversion of hypoxia becomes the basis for enhancing the disease treatment. Thanks to the development of nanotechnology, various nanomaterials with oxygen‐production capacity are explored to recover the function of oxygen in tissue, but there are still some limitations. The photosynthetic microorganisms (PSMs) are extensively applied for improving hypoxia in diseases due to their highly efficient photocatalytic oxygen production efficacy and desirable biocompatibility. In this review, the up‐to‐date research progress on therapeutic modalities of microbial‐based photosynthetic oxygenation (e.g., cancer treatment, wound healing, and tissue engineering) are summarized and highlighted. In addition, the key issue of biocompatibility/biosafety of microbial‐based treatment that is fundamental to apply in vivo is further emphasized and clarified. Finally, the present critical issues are discussed and the future evolution of microbial‐based treatment based on photosynthetic oxygenation is predicted, promoting further development and clinical applications.

Plants as a cost‐effective source for customizable photosynthetic wound dressings: A proof of concept study

“…Photosynthetic therapies aim to provide oxygen to tissues in a blood‐independent manner. This concept relies on the local implantation of photosynthetic microorganisms and has been previously studied for various clinical applications (Yang et al, 2023), including tumor treatment (Agarwal et al, 2021), organ preservation (Veloso‐Gimenez et al, 2021), ischemic heart (Cohen et al, 2017), and peripheral artery disease (Zhu et al, 2022). Additionally, several independent research groups have proposed the use of photosynthetic biomaterials as bioactive dressings for wound healing (Ma et al, 2023).…”

Sonosynthetic Cyanobacteria Oxygenation for Self‐Enhanced Tumor‐Specific Treatment

“…[4] Beyond plants, microbial photosynthesis is vital in nature and has been innovatively integrated into biomedical applications, [5] particularly for oxygen-dependent disease treatments. [6] The photocatalytic oxygen production capacity and biocompatibility make photosynthetic microorganisms suitable for treating hypoxia-related diseases, including tumor therapy, [7] wound healing, [8] tissue engineering, [9] and ischemic myocardial injury treatment. [10] However, the effectiveness of photosynthesis in medical applications is limited by the poor tissue penetration of light sources and interference from endogenous tissue substances, hindering activation in deep tissues and reducing the therapeutic effect.…”