Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 24, 2026

Photodynamic Therapy with Blended Conducting Polymer/Fullerene Nanoparticle Photosensitizers
Published on: October 28, 2015
A Smart Photosensitizer-Cerium Oxide Nanoprobe for Highly Selective and Efficient Photodynamic Therapy
Yifan Fan1, Pengyun Li2, Binbin Hu1
1State Key Laboratory of Applied Organic Chemistry, Key Laboratory of Nonferrous Metal Chemistry and Resources Utilization of Gansu Province, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering , Lanzhou University , Lanzhou 730000 , P. R. China.
Abstract:
Cerium oxide (CeO x) with a reversible surface Ce3+/Ce4+ redox pair has played an important role in catalytic reactions, whereas catalase mimetics of CeO x have attracted little attention in the field of biotherapy. Herein, a smart photosensitizer-cerium oxide nanoprobe was developed to represent a promising paradigm in high-performance photodynamic therapy. The photosensitizer was linked to CeO x nanoparticles through a substrate peptide (EGPLGVRGK) of matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2). The smart nanoprobe could be converted from the "silent state" before arriving at the cancer cells to the "activated state" within the cells to turn on the fluorescence and 1O2 generation when the peptide linker (EGPLGVRGK) was cut by the cancer biomarker MMP-2. Moreover, CeO x played the role of an excellent catalase-like compound to decompose endogenous hydrogen peroxide to relieve tumor hypoxia. Via the conventional application of CeO x, our study showed innovatively how a smart nanoprobe could relieve tumor hypoxia and achieve a therapeutic effect for highly selective and efficient personalized treatment.
Related Concept Videos
Oxidation Numbers
Pyruvate Oxidation
First, the enzyme pyruvate dehydrogenase removes the carboxyl group from pyruvate and releases it as carbon dioxide. The stripped molecule is then oxidized and releases electrons, which are then picked up by NAD+...
Oxidation-Reduction Reactions
What is Natural Selection?
Gene Therapy
Antibiotic Selection

