Recent Development in Near-Infrared Photothermal Therapy Based on Semiconducting Polymer Dots

Abstract

Photothermal therapy (PTT) techniques have been developed for years, while active endeavors have been continuously undertaken recently to enhance their efficiency by employing near-infrared light. Among the photothermal agents, semiconducting polymer dots (Pdots) appear to be a promising type of agent because of their large absorption coefficients, phenomenal photostability, tunable optical properties, and good biocompatibility. This review article systematically summarizes recent advances in Pdots for deep-tissue PTT and perspectives/challenges on the nascent field.

Solvent Effects on Fluorescence Properties of Carbon Dots: Implications for Multicolor Imaging

“…Carbon dots (CDs) are a new sort of zero-dimensional carbon nanomaterials with particle sizes less than 10 nm . According to their structure, CDs consist of carbon nanodots (CNDs), , graphene quantum dots (GQDs), , and polymer dots (PDs). , CDs are environmentally friendly and low-toxic fluorescent nanomaterials. CDs also possess good biocompatibilities and excellent optical properties, , which are applied for sensing and bioimaging. , They are expected to replace the traditional semiconductor quantum dots with biological toxicity and environmental hazards, especially CdSe quantum dots owing to a high fluorescence quantum yield …”

“…1 According to their structure, CDs consist of carbon nanodots (CNDs), 2,3 graphene quantum dots (GQDs), 4,5 and polymer dots (PDs). 6,7 CDs are environmentally friendly and low-toxic fluorescent nanomaterials. CDs also possess good biocompatibilities and excellent optical properties, 8,9 which are applied for sensing and bioimaging.…”

Near‐Infrared‐Emitting Boron‐Difluoride‐Curcuminoid‐Based Polymers Exhibiting Thermally Activated Delayed Fluorescence as Biological Imaging Probes

“…As a result, Pdots have recently found application in single‐particle tracking in cells, [35] lateral flow or blot‐style assays, [36, 37] and immunolabeling of cancer cells [38] . Despite this growing interest, Pdots with NIR emission remain rare [39–41] …”

Bioinspired near-infrared light-induced ultrafast soft actuators with tunable deformation and motion based on conjugated polymers/liquid crystal elastomers

“…These properties enable CPs to respond to NIR light and convert it to heat energy efficiently through nonradiative relaxation. Accordingly, they are widely employed in photothermal therapy, 42 clean water harvesting, 43 organic electronics 44 and energy harvesting. 45 The compatibility between CPs and LCEs also allows simple mixing for composite preparation in many kinds of organic solvents for long-term stable storage of photo-responsive unpolymerized LCE-based composites without aggregation.…”