TABLE 1.

Different types of biocompatible nanocarriers used for cancer PDT in vitro models.

Name of the nanocarriers	Fabrication type	Size (nm)	Encapsulated compounds	Outcomes
Polyphosphoester Based Nanocarriers	Copolymerization	40 nm	Chlorin e6 (Ce6)	mPEG45-OH was used to synthesize Ce6-loaded polyphosphoester-based nanocarriers under the catalysis of 1,5,7-triazabicylo [4.4.0] dec-5-ene (TBD), followed by a dialysis method to remove unloaded Ce6. In vitro photodynamic therapeutic efficacy of synthesized nanomaterials was studied using BxPC-3 cells (pancreatic cancer cells) with and without NIR laser irradiation (660 nm), and it exhibited excellent cytotoxicity in irradiated treatment compared to free Ce6 Ding et al. (2015)
Polymeric micelles	Self-assembly	105.6 ± 28.56 nm	Doxorubicin and Ce6	The anticancer activity of doxorubicin-loaded polymeric micelles in 4T1 and A549 cells was investigated in vitro. In both irradiated and non-irradiated samples, laser irradiated, and non-irradiated dox-loaded micelles demonstrated increased activity compared to free dox Su et al. (2021)
Light-responsive polymeric nanoparticles	Emulsion-diffusion method	227.5 ± 5.1 nm	5,10,15,20-tetrakis (m-hydroxyphenyl) chlorine or (mTHPC)	The cytotoxic effects of mTHPC-loaded light-responsive nanoparticles on HT-29 cells (Colon cancer cells) were confirmed, and all formulations demonstrated an effective cellular uptake of mTHPC in fluorescence microscopy study Schoppa et al. (2021)
Multifunctional Theranostic Liposomes	Self-assembly	105 ± 5 nm	Indocyanine green (ICG); hypoxia-activated prodrug tirapazamine (TPZ) and Ce6	Multifunctional theranostic liposomes were used to coencapsulate ICG,TPZ, and Ce6, and their cytotoxicity in A549 cells (lung cancer cells) was confirmed. A flow cytometry study revealed significant cell apoptosis under 808 nm + 660 nm laser irradiation Dai et al. (2019)
Liposomes	Thin-film hydration method	From 99.6 nm ± 6.7–132.7 nm ± 12.7	Parietin	The parietin-loaded liposomes are synthesized in four different formulations. MDA-MB-231 cells (breast cancer cells) were used to test the cell viability of synthesized liposomes. The cell viability study confirmed the phototoxic effect of both free and drug-loaded liposomes in light and dose-dependent manner. A close examination of the study revealed that the photosensitizing activity of parietin was significantly increased when exposed to light Ayoub et al. (2021)
Co-encapsulated Liposomes	Coencapsulation	308 nm	Zinc phthalocyanine	MDA-MB 231 cells were used to test the cytotoxicity of coencapsulated liposomes. The study findings revealed that ZnPC-loaded liposomes significantly improved the cytotoxic effects of all concentrations tested Feuser et al. (2021)
Poly (amidoamine) PAMAM Dendrimers	Self-assembly	74.5 ± 18.4 nm	Ce6	U14 murine cervical cancer cells were used to study the cellular uptake and in vitro PDT efficacy of synthesized Ce6-loaded dendrimers. When compared to free Ce6, the PDT efficacy of Ce6-loaded dendrimers was significantly increased in the presence of H2O2 Xu et al. (2019)
Nanocrystal-dendrimer	Upconversion method	34 nm	Ce6	The cellular uptake of synthesized dendrimer was studied, and it demonstrated effective mitochondrial targeting in 4T1 cells (breast cancer cells) Liang et al. (2020)