Research advances in BODIPY-assembled supramolecular photosensitizers for photodynamic therapy

Host–Guest Interactions Induce Supramolecular Assembly and Inhibit Electron Transfer to Enhance the Fluorescence Emission of Supramolecular Polymers

“…Furthermore, the integration of functional groups on monomers can also endow the corresponding SPs with a unique functionality. Boron-dipyrromethene (BODIPY) and its derivatives, such as porphyrin analogues, are important fluorescent dyes. , BODIPY possesses a high emission quantum yield, regulable photophysical nature, and good chemical stability. Although various SPs have been prepared by macrocyclic-based host–guest interactions, the preparation and structure transformation of SPs by multiple host–guest interactions combined with fluorescent dye groups have not been reported.…”

Strategies to address key challenges of metallacycle/metallacage-based supramolecular coordination complexes in biomedical applications

“…These bonds leverage the heavy atom effect to facilitate intersystem crossing relaxation, increasing the yield of ROS in photodynamic therapy (PDT). 47 Additionally, to address the challenges of poor PDT efficacy in the hypoxic microenvironments of tumor tissues and the inhibition of photothermal therapy (PTT) due to heat shock protein expression in tumor cells, SCCs can be employed to develop a synergistic PDT/PTT model. 48 To tackle the limitations of short excitation wavelength and low tissue penetration depth in traditional phototherapy, BODIPY (fluoroboron dipyrrole) derivatives, featuring high quantum yields and stable chemical/photophysical properties, 49–51 or organic ligands with a donor–acceptor–donor (D–A–D) structure 52 can be employed for incorporation into SCCs.…”

“…Numerous reviews have focused on aspects such as molecular structure design, PDT/PTT applications, and theranostics in the near-infrared/infrared region. 30,42,47,48,52 However, the path to clinical application of SCCs remains extensive. Beyond the aforementioned specific issues, SCCs also encounter several general but critical obstacles, including water solubility, biosafety, biocompatibility, potential toxicity, and biodistribution, which must be overcome before their real-world implementation.…”

Photodynamic Therapy with Targeted Release of Boron-Dipyrromethene Dye from Cobalt(III) Prodrugs in Red Light

“…27,28 BODIPY dyes as such suffer from poor aqueous solubility, low tumor selectivity, and less biocompatibility, thus limiting their administration and biological applications. 29,30 Structural modifications of the BODIPY core with a metal-binding unit and incorporation of heavy bromine atom substituents result in the heavy-atom effect, causing a significant increase in the singlet oxygen quantum yield by enriching the triplet state via facile intersystem crossing (ISC) in the type-II photoreaction. 31,32 In addition, we have incorporated amphiphilic polyethylene glycol (PEG) moieties into the BODIPY structure with an aim to improve its biocompatibility and circulation time in the bloodstream for potential in vivo applications based on the knowledge that the oligoethylene glycol moieties enhance the cell permeability and tumortargeting efficacy of the PSs in PDT.…”