Nanoengineering of Porphyrin-Based Biomaterials for Innovative Cancer Therapy

Cancer treatment faces significant challenges, including high invasiveness, systemic toxicity, and recurrence risks. Minimally invasive therapies such as photodynamic therapy (PDT), sonodynamic therapy (SDT), and photothermal therapy (PTT) have gained attention for their selectivity and low toxicity. Porphyrin-based compounds, with excellent photo/sono-sensitivity, are ideal for these therapies but face limitations like poor water solubility, aggregation, rapid metabolism, insufficient tumor targeting, and potential phototoxicity. Nanotechnology provides solutions: (1) Enhancing porphyrin's solubility and stability through strategies like liposomal encapsulation and polymer coating; (2) Using materials like hydrogen-bond organic frameworks (HOFs) and metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) to improve solubility, prevent aggregation, and enable efficient drug loading; (3) Developing tumor microenvironment-responsive porphyrin-based nanoplatforms for precise drug release, improving tumor targeting and reducing toxicity; (4) Integrating PDT/SDT/PTT with chemotherapy and immunotherapy for synergistic effects, overcoming resistance and metastasis. This review discusses the advances in multifunctional porphyrin-based nanobiomaterials, highlighting their role in precision theranostics and synergistic therapy for next-generation, low-toxicity, high-efficiency, personalized cancer treatments.