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Updated: Sep 4, 2025
Photodynamic Therapy with Blended Conducting Polymer/Fullerene Nanoparticle Photosensitizers
Published on: October 28, 2015
Microneedle Patches with O2 Propellant for Deeply and Fast Delivering Photosensitizers: Towards Improved Photodynamic
Pei Liu1, Yangxue Fu2, Fulong Wei3
1Hubei Engineering Research Center for Biomaterials and Medical Protective Materials, and State Key Laboratory of Materials Processing and Mold Technology, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST), Wuhan, 430074, China.
Abstract:
Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is an emerging technique for treating tumors. Especially, topical administration of photosensitizers (PSs) is more favorable for superficial tumor treatments with low systematic phototoxicity. Yet, ineffective migration of PSs to targeted tumor tissues and rapid consumption of O2 during PDT greatly limit their effects. Herein, PS-loaded microneedle (MN) patches with O2 propellant for a deeper and faster transdermal delivery of PS and improved PDT by embedding sodium percarbonate (SPC) into dissolving poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) MNs are presented. It is shown that SPC in the MNs can react with surrounding fluid to generate gaseous oxygen bubbles, forming vigorous fluid flows and thus greatly enhancing PS of chlorin e6 (Ce6) penetration in both hydrogel models and skin tissues. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) in hypoxic breast cancer cells (4T1 cells) are greatly increased by rapid penetration of PS and relief of hypoxia in vitro, and Ce6-loaded SPC MNs show an excellent cell-killing effect. Moreover, lower tumor growth rate and tumor mass after a 20-d treatment in tumor-bearing mice model verify the improved PDT in gaseous oxygen-droved delivery of PS. This study demonstrates a facile yet effective route of MN delivery of PSs for improved PDT in hypoxic tumor treatment.
