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Specific Light‐Up Bioprobe with Aggregation‐Induced Emission and Activatable Photoactivity for the Targeted and Image‐Guided Photodynamic Ablation of Cancer Cells |
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| Authors: | Dr Meng Gao Ruoyu Zhang Prof?Dr Ben Zhong Tang Prof?Dr Bin Liu |
| Institution: | 1. Institute of Materials Research and Engineering, 3 Research Link, Singapore, 117602 (Singapore);2. Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, National University of Singapore, 4 Engineering Drive 4, Singapore, 117585 (Singapore);3. Department of Chemistry, Division of Biomedical Engineering, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong (China);4. SCUT‐HKUST Joint Research Laboratory, Guangdong Innovative Research Team, State Key Laboratory of Luminescent Materials and Devices, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510640 (China) |
| Abstract: | Activatable photosensitizers (PSs) have been widely used for the simultaneous fluorescence imaging and photodynamic ablation of cancer cells. However, the ready aggregation of traditional PSs in aqueous media can lead to fluorescence quenching as well as reduced phototoxicity even in the activated form. We have developed a series of PSs that show aggregation‐enhanced emission and phototoxicity and thus the exact opposite behavior to that of previously reported PSs. We further developed a dual‐targeted enzyme‐activatable bioprobe based on the optimized photosensitizer and describe simultaneous light‐up fluorescence imaging and activated photodynamic therapy for specific cancer cells. The design of smart probes should thus open new opportunities for targeted and image‐guided photodynamic therapy. |
| Keywords: | aggregation‐induced emission (AIE) cancer fluorescence imaging image‐guided therapy photodynamic therapy |