Near-infrared irradiation controlled thermo-switchable polymeric photosensitizer against β-amyloid fibrillation

Photothermal therapy (PTT) is an emerging paradigm for the degradation of amyloid-β (Aβ) aggregations and has become an effective way of treating Alzheimer's disease (AD). A promising PTT therapeutic option requires control of at least two key functional aspects: controllable photoactivity and specific activation. In this work, a near-infrared (NIR)-activated thermo-switchable biopolymeric PTT agent was designed and synthesized by conjugating a molecular rotor-based boron dipyrromethene photosensitizer (BDP) to a temperature-responsive polymer backbone of biopolymeric hydroxypropyl cellulose (HPC). The as-synthesized BDP-HPC exhibited an ultra-high PCE of 78.1% along with prominent cycling stability of phase-transition behavior under NIR irradiation in the light of the lower critical solution temperature (LCST at 42.5 °C). Importantly, the NIR irradiation can manipulate the reversible phase transition behavior of the resultant BDP-HPC that reveals high effectiveness in inhibiting Aβ aggregation together with the obvious ability to dissociate Aβ aggregations. Our work reveals an accurate modulation strategy for versatile and high-performance AD treatment.