Highly Biocompatible Carbon Nanodots for Simultaneous Bioimaging and Targeted Photodynamic Therapy In Vitro and In Vivo |
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| Authors: | Yuri Choi Seongchan Kim Myung‐Ho Choi Soo‐Ryoon Ryoo Jongnam Park Dal‐Hee Min Byeong‐Su Kim |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Department of Chemistry and Department of Energy Engineering, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), Ulsan, Korea;2. Department of Chemistry, Seoul National University, Center for RNA Research, Institute for Basic Science (IBS), Seoul, Korea |
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| Abstract: | Photosensitizers (PSs) are light‐sensitive molecules that are highly hydrophobic, which poses a challenge to their use for targeted photodynamic therapy. Hence, considerable efforts have been made to develop carriers for the delivery of PSs. Herein, a novel design is described of highly biocompatible, fluorescent, folic acid (FA)‐functionalized carbon nanodots (CDs) as carriers for the PS zinc phthalocyanine (ZnPc) to achieve simultaneous biological imaging and targeted photodynamic therapy. FA is modified on PEG‐passivated CDs (CD‐PEG) for targeted delivery to FA‐positive cancer cells, and ZnPc is loaded onto CD‐PEG‐FA via π–π stacking interactions. CD‐PEG‐FA/ZnPc exhibits excellent targeted delivery of the PS, leading to simultaneous imaging and significant targeted photodynamic therapy after irradiation in vitro and in vivo. The present CD‐based targeted delivery of PSs is anticipated to offer a convenient and effective platform for enhanced photodynamic therapy to treat cancers in the near future. |
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| Keywords: | carbon nanodots photodynamic therapy targeted therapy drug delivery bioimaging fluorescence cancer therapy |
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