Bodipy photosensitizer linked hybrid nanomaterials for photodynamic therapy

Abstract

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is an alternative clinically approved treatment method to obliterate the cancerous lesion by producing reactive oxygen species (ROS) via activated photosensitizer (PS) molecule at a certain wavelength1. In recent years, Bodipy (4,4-difluoro-4-bora-3a,4a-diaza-s-indacene) as a photosensitizer molecule has been extensively investigated in PDT2,3. However, the use of many Bodipy PS in PDT has been limited due to their insolubility in aqueous solutions. Therefore, nanotechnology offers tremendous solutions to building up nano-carrier systems for insoluble molecules. We have herein developed a stable formulation of hybrid Bodipy PS via conjugation of TiO2 nanoparticles to the Bodipy PS. In this study, a heavy metal substituted Bodipy PS molecule has been synthesized and linked to polyethyleneimine (PEI) functionalized TiO2 nanoparticles to increase the stability and biocompatibility of the photosensitizer in physiological conditions (pH:7.4) as a potential photodynamic therapy agent and investigated PDT effect on CRL-4010 and MDA-MB-231 cancer cells.