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Updated: Feb 19, 2026
Photodynamic Therapy with Blended Conducting Polymer/Fullerene Nanoparticle Photosensitizers
Published on: October 28, 2015
Mitochondrial specific photodynamic therapy by rare-earth nanoparticles mediated near-infrared graphene quantum dots
Dandan Zhang1, Liewei Wen1, Ru Huang1
1MOE Key Laboratory of Laser Life Science and Institute of Laser Life Science, College of Biophotonics, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510631, PR China.
Abstract:
Photodynamic therapy (PDT) has been proposed in cancer treatment for decades, but its clinical translation is significantly impeded by the low yield of ROS, poor tissue penetration depth of most current photosensitizers, and short lifetime of ROS. These limitations directly affect the therapeutic effect of PDT in cancer therapy. Here we proposed a new strategy by collaboratively integrating rare-earth doped upconversion nanoparticles (UCNP) with graphene quantum dot (GQD) for highly efficacious PDT, based on the merits of UCNP, which can emit UV-vis light under near-infrared light (NIR) excitation, and GQD, which can produce 1O2 efficiently. For GQD-decorated UCNP nanoparticles (UCNP-GQD), the emission light from UCNP can further excite GQD with prominent 1O2 generation for NIR-triggered PDT. Furthermore, a hydrophilic rhodamine derivative, TRITC, is covalently tethered to afford the resultant UCNP-GQD/TRITC, possessing distinct mitochondrial targeting property. Thus mitochondrial specific PDT with in-situ1O2 burst in mitochondria induces sharp decrease of mitochondrial membrane potential, which initiates the tumor cell apoptosis irreversibly. Importantly, in vivo experiments demonstrate the tumor inhibition of mitochondrial targeting UCNP-GQD/TRITC with improved therapeutic efficiency compared with non-targeting UCNP-GQD. The proposed strategy highlights the advantages of precision organelles-specific PDT in cancer therapy.
Insights
This study introduces a novel nanoparticle system combining upconversion nanoparticles and graphene quantum dots for enhanced photodynamic therapy (PDT). This targeted approach improves cancer treatment efficacy by generating reactive oxygen species within mitochondria.
Area of Science:
- Biomedical Engineering
- Nanotechnology
- Cancer Therapy
Background:
- Photodynamic therapy (PDT) faces challenges in cancer treatment, including low reactive oxygen species (ROS) yield, poor light penetration, and short ROS lifetimes.
- Current photosensitizers limit the clinical translation and therapeutic effectiveness of PDT.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a novel nanoparticle system for highly efficacious, near-infrared (NIR) light-triggered photodynamic therapy.
- To enhance PDT by improving ROS generation and achieving targeted delivery to cancer cells.
Main Methods:
- Integration of rare-earth doped upconversion nanoparticles (UCNP) with graphene quantum dots (GQD) to create UCNP-GQD nanoparticles.
- Covalent tethering of a mitochondrial targeting agent (TRITC) to yield UCNP-GQD/TRITC nanoparticles.
- Evaluation of mitochondrial targeting and in vivo tumor inhibition efficacy.
Main Results:
- UCNP-GQD nanoparticles efficiently generate singlet oxygen (1O2) under NIR excitation, enabling potent PDT.
- Mitochondrial-targeted UCNP-GQD/TRITC induced irreversible cancer cell apoptosis by disrupting mitochondrial membrane potential.
- In vivo studies demonstrated superior tumor inhibition by the targeted UCNP-GQD/TRITC compared to non-targeted nanoparticles.
Conclusions:
- The developed UCNP-GQD/TRITC system offers a promising strategy for precision, organelle-specific PDT in cancer therapy.
- Targeted delivery and enhanced ROS generation significantly improve therapeutic efficiency.
- This approach overcomes key limitations of traditional PDT, paving the way for improved cancer treatments.
