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Updated: Feb 12, 2026

Anticancer Efficacy of Photodynamic Therapy with Lung Cancer-Targeted Nanoparticles
Published on: December 1, 2016
Photoswitchable Micelles for the Control of Singlet-Oxygen Generation in Photodynamic Therapies
Yan Zhai1, Henk J Busscher2, Yong Liu2
1State Key Laboratory of Medicinal Chemical Biology, Key Laboratory of Functional Polymer Materials of Ministry of Education, Institute of Polymer Chemistry, College of Chemistry , Nankai University , Tianjin 300071 , China.
Abstract:
Inadvertent photosensitizer-activation and singlet-oxygen generation hampers clinical application of photodynamic therapies of superficial tumors or subcutaneous infections. Therefore, a reversible photoswitchable system was designed in micellar nanocarriers using ZnTPP as a photosensitizer and BDTE as a photoswitch. Singlet-oxygen generation upon irradiation didnot occur in closed-switch micelles with ZnTPP/BDTE feeding ratios >1:10. Deliberate switch closure/opening within 65-80 min was possible through thin layers of porcine tissue in vitro, increasing for thicker layers. Inadvertent opening of the switch by simulated daylight, took several tens of hours. Creating deliberate cell damage and prevention of inadvertent damage in vitro and in mice could be done at lower ZnTPP/BDTE feeding ratios (1:5) in open-switch micelles and at higher irradiation intensities than inferred from chemical clues to generate singlet-oxygen. The reduction of inadvertent photosensitizer activation in micellar nanocarriers, while maintaining the ability to kill tumor cells and infectious bacteria established here, brings photodynamic therapies closer to clinical application.
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