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Updated: Jan 23, 2026

Photodynamic Therapy with Blended Conducting Polymer/Fullerene Nanoparticle Photosensitizers
Published on: October 28, 2015
Luminescent, Oxygen-Supplying, Hemoglobin-Linked Conjugated Polymer Nanoparticles for Photodynamic Therapy
Linye Jiang1,2, Haotian Bai1, Libing Liu1
1Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, Key Laboratory of Organic Solids, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, P. R. China.
Abstract:
Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a promising method for cancer treatment. Two parameters that influence the efficacy of PDT are the light source and oxygen supply. Herein, we prepared a system for PDT using hemoglobin (Hb)-linked conjugated polymer nanoparticles (CPNs), which can luminesce and supply oxygen. Hb catalyzes the activation of luminol, the conjugated polymer poly[2-methoxy-5-(2-ethylhexyloxy)-1,4-phenylenevinylene] (MEH-PPV) nanoparticles can absorb the chemiluminescence of luminol through chemiluminescence resonance energy transfer (CRET) and then sensitize the oxygen supplied by Hb to produce reactive oxygen species that kill cancer cells. This system could be used for the controlled release of an anticancer prodrug. The system does not need an external light source and circumvents the insufficient level molecular oxygen under hypoxia. This work provides a proof-of-concept to explore smart and multifunctional nanoplatforms for phototherapy.
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