Table 2.
Recent advances in the preclinical development of nanopharmaceuticals to perform PDT.
| Photosensitizer (PS) | Type of Nanomaterials | Tumor Type Treated | Results and Highlights | Year | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chlorin e6 (Ce6) | Stem cell membrane-camouflaged bioinspired nanoparticles |
Lung cancer |
The enhanced antitumor effect of Ng/Ce6@SCV after NIR irradiation significantly inhibits primary tumor growth with fewer side effects. |
2020 | [80] |
| Hyaluronic acid (HA)-based nanomaterials | Primary tumor and melanoma |
Multifunctional nanosystem (HPR@CCP) exerted combined photodynamic and immunotherapeutic activity to amplify the therapeutic effect on primary tumors and distant metastases. | 2020 | [81] | |
| Peptide p 18-4/chlorin e6 (Ce6)-conjugated polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (PPC) nanoparticles |
Breast cancer cells |
Cancer-targeting peptide p 18-4/chlorin e6 (Ce6)-conjugated polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (PPC) nanoparticles improved the targeting ability of Ce6 to breast cancer cells to enhance PDT efficacy. |
2020 | [82] | |
| Ce6 loaded to the peroxidase-mimic metal-organic framework (MOF) MIL-100 (Ce6@MIL-100) |
Breast cancer cell (4T1 cell line) |
Peroxidase mimic metal-organic framework efficiently ablated tumors in microenvironment. |
2020 | [83] | |
| A fucoidan-based theranostic nanogel consisting of a fucoidan backbone, redox-responsive cleavable linker and Ce6 |
Human fibrosarcoma cell line (HT1080) |
Fucoidan, the polymer backbone of the nanogel platform, enabled cancer targeting by P-selectin binding and enhanced the antitumor effect by inhibiting the binding of vascular endothelial growth factor. |
2020 | [84] | |
| Ligation of an anticancer cabazitaxel (CTX) drug via reactive oxygen species-activated thioketal linkage produces a dimeric TKdC prodrug, followed by co-assembly with a photosensitizer, Ce6 |
Human melanoma patient-derived xenograft (PDX) | Administration of psTKdC NAs followed by laser irradiation produced durable tumor regression, with tumors completely eradicated in three of six PDXs. | 2020 | [81] | |
| Light-enhanced PTX nanoparticles (Ce6/PTX2-Azo NPs) were prepared by synthesizing a hypoxia-activated self-sacrificing prodrug of paclitaxel (PTX2-Azo) and encapsulating it with a peptide copolymer decorated with the photosensitizer Ce6 |
The innately hypoxic microenvironment of most solid tumors |
PTX2-Azo prevented premature drug leakage and realized specific release in a hypoxic tumor microenvironment, and the photosensitizer Ce6 efficiently generated singlet oxygen under light irradiation and acted as a positive amplifier to promote the release of PTX |
2020 | [85] | |
| Ce6-caspase 3 cleavable peptide (Asp-Glu-Val-Asp, DEVD)-anticancer drug monomethyl auristatin E (MMAE) conjugate, resulting in Ce6-DEVD-MMAE nanoparticles |
Squamous cell carcinoma 7 (SCC7) | Light-induced therapeutic strategy based on apoptotic activation of Ce6-DEVD-MMAE nanoparticles can be used to treat solid tumors inaccessible to conventional PDT. | 2019 | [86] | |
| 5-aminolevulinic acid (5-ALA) | Gold nanoparticles (GNP) conjugated to 5-ALA | Nonmelanoma skin cancer Subcutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC) |
GNP conjugated to 5-ALA significantly enhanced the antitumor efficacy of PDT in HaCat and A431 cells |
2020 | [87] |
| Gefitinib PLGA nanoparticles | Lung cancer |
Synergistic therapeutic effects were identified by the combination of chemotherapy and photodynamic therapy |
2020 | [88] | |
| Pheophorbide A (PhA) |
Photoactivatable nanomicelles, which are constructed by self-assembly of poly (ethylene glycol) (PEG)-stearamine (C18) conjugate (PTS) with a ROS-sensitive thioketal linker (TL) and co-loaded with doxorubicin (DOX) and photosensitizer pheophorbide A (PhA) |
Colon cancer cell line (CT-26) |
The gradual elevation of local ROS levels generated by photoactivated PhA synergistically inhibited tumor growth and enhanced anti-tumor immunity by ROS-induced release of DOX. |
2020 | [89] |
| Acid-responsive polygalactose-co-polycinnamaldehyde polyprodrug (PGGA) self-assembled with PhA |
Hepatocarcinoma (HepG2) | Intravenous injection of PGCA@PA NPs strongly inhibited tumor growth of hepatocellular carcinoma with negligible side effects. |
2020 | [90] | |
| PEG-doxorubicin conjugate | Colon cancer (CT-26) | Synergistically maximized the efficacy of the combination of chemotherapy and photodynamic therapy. | 2020 | [91] | |
| IR780 | IR780 loaded on the prodrug micelle that consisted of camptothecin (CPT) andpolyethylene glycol (PEG) with further modification of iRGD peptide. | Glioma | The targeted prodrug system could effectively cross various barriers to reach the glioma site and greatly enhanced the antitumor effect with laser irradiation. |
2020 | [92] |
| Poly-ε-caprolactone nanoparticles (PCL NPs) modified with LHRH peptide and loaded with IR780 and paclitaxel (PTX) |
Ovarian cancer | LHRH peptide modified PCL (PCL-LHRH) NPs demonstrated increased internalization in ovarian tumor cells in vitro and selective targeting in tumor xenografts in vivo | 2020 | [93] | |
| Indocyanine | Graphene oxide nanoparticle | Osteosarcoma | Nanoparticle consisting of polyethylene glycol (PEG), folic acid (FA), PS indocyanine green (ICG), and doxorubicin inhibited the proliferation and migration of osteosarcoma cells. |
2020 | [90] |
| Self-assembled nanoparticle with indocyanine, camptothecin, RGD peptide |
Human cervical carcinoma cell lines (HeLa); Human hepatoma (BEL-7402) | This facile and effective self-assembly strategy to construct nanodrugs demonstrated enhanced performance for cancer theranostics. |
2018 | [94] |