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Updated: Feb 1, 2026

Photodynamic Therapy with Blended Conducting Polymer/Fullerene Nanoparticle Photosensitizers
Published on: October 28, 2015
Functional Polymer Nanocarriers for Photodynamic Therapy
1CAS Key Laboratory of Soft Matter Chemistry, iChEM, and Department of Chemical Physics, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China. lituanwe@mail.ustc.edu.cn.
Abstract:
Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is an appealing therapeutic modality in management of some solid tumors and other diseases for its minimal invasion and non-systemic toxicity. However, the hydrophobicity and non-selectivity of the photosensitizers, inherent serious hypoxia of tumor tissues and limited penetration depth of light restrict PDT further applications in clinic. Functional polymer nanoparticles can be used as a nanocarrier for accurate PDT. Here, we elucidate the mechanism and application of PDT in cancer treatments, and then review some strategies to administer the biodistribution and activation of photosensitizers (PSs) to ameliorate or utilize the tumor hypoxic microenvironment to enhance the photodynamic therapy effect.
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