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Current Drug Metabolism

Editor-in-Chief

ISSN (Print): 1389-2002
ISSN (Online): 1875-5453

Nanoparticles Improve Biological Functions of Phthalocyanine Photosensitizers Used for Photodynamic Therapy

Author(s): Xiao Jia and Lee Jia

Volume 13, Issue 8, 2012

Page: [1119 - 1122] Pages: 4

DOI: 10.2174/138920012802850074

Price: $65

Abstract

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a new technology using photodynamic effect for disease diagnosis and treatment. It is a twostep technique involving the uptake of a photosensitizer by cancer tissue followed by light irradiation that excites the photosensitizer to produce highly reactive oxygen species, the latter execute apoptosis of cancerous cells. As a second-generation of photosensitizers, phthalocyanine demonstrates higher absorption in the 650-800nm range and short tissue accumulation compared to their first generation. However, many potent phthalocyanine photosensitizers are hydrophobic and poorly water-soluble, which limit their therapeutic applications. As a result, advanced delivery systems and different strategies are called for to improve the effectiveness of PDT. Facts have proved that using nanoparticles as carries of photosensitizers is a very promising route. Nanoparticles have the potentials to increase photosensitizers’ aqueous solubility, bioavailability and stability, and deliver photosensitizers to the target tissues. This article reviewed the commonly-used nanoparticles, including colloid gold, quantum dots, paramagnetic nanoparticles, silica-based materials, polymer-based nanoparticles, as potential delivery systems for phthalocyanine photosensitizers, and summarized the improved biological functions of phthalocyanine photosensitizers in PDT.

Keywords: Photodynamic therapy, phthalocyanine photosensitizers, nanoparticles, nanocarriers, drug delivery, Phthalocyanin, Photosensitizers, Photodynamic, Therapy, Nanobiotechnology, Langmuir-Blodgett films, pharmacokinetics, modalities.


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