Abstract
Tetra-tert-butyl zinc(II) phthalocyanine has attracted great attention as an effective photosensitizer in the field of photodynamic therapy. However, tetra-tert-butyl zinc(II) phthalocyanine is hydrophobic and trends to aggregate to form the inactive congeries in aqueous solution, which dramatically reduce its photodynamic activity. To solve this problem, tetra-tert-butyl zinc(II) phthalocyanine was encapsulated into silica nanoparticles using microemulsion method and its properties were studied using spectroscopic methods. After embedded inside the silica nanoparticles, the water-solubility, stability and monomer percent of phthalocyanine in water were greatly improved comparing with the free phthalocyanines, and therefore, its photo-induced singlet oxygen generation efficacy of drug-doped silica nanoparticles was improved. The results indicated that encapsulation hydrophobic phthalocyanine into silica nanoparticles was an effective way to solve their problems and promote their clinical application.
Highlights
Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a promising treatment for several types of cancers, such as esophageal cancer, liver cancer and so on
One of the PSs most widely used in PDT is phthalocyanines (Pcs) because of their strong absorption in the phototherapeutic window, high singlet oxygen generation efficiency, and high photodynamic activities for inactivation of different tumour cell lines [1,2,8,13]
It clearly showed that the stability of TBPcSN was increased compared to free tert-butyl zinc(II) phthalocyanine (TBPc), which indicated that TBPcSNs has excellent stability in the aqueous solution due to their ultrasmall size
Summary
Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a promising treatment for several types of cancers, such as esophageal cancer, liver cancer and so on. This treatment involves the administration of photosensitizers (PSs), and irradiates with light of a specific wavelength to induce cell death. Singlet oxygen (1O2) and other cytototoxic reactive oxygen species (ROSs) are formed in the overall reaction [10,11,12]. One of the PSs most widely used in PDT is phthalocyanines (Pcs) because of their strong absorption in the phototherapeutic window, high singlet oxygen generation efficiency, and high photodynamic activities for inactivation of different tumour cell lines [1,2,8,13]. Pcs will aggregate in aqueous solution, which can interfere with their PDT efficacy and decrease the fluorescence of the Pcs [16]
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