Cu(ii)-BODIPY photosensitizer for CAIX overexpressed cancer stem cell therapy

A BODIPY-Ferrocene Conjugate for the Combined Photodynamic Therapy and Chemodynamic Therapy with Improved Antitumor Efficiency

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) can destroy tumor cells by generating singlet oxygen (1O2) under light irradiation, which is limited by the hypoxia of the neoplastic tissue. Chemodynamic therapy (CDT) can produce toxic hydroxyl radical (⋅OH) to eradicate tumor cells by catalytic decomposition of endogenous hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), the therapeutic effect of which is highly dependent on the concentration of H2O2. Herein, we propose a BODIPY-ferrocene conjugate with a balanced 1O2 and ⋅OH generation capacity, which can serve as a high-efficiency antitumor agent by combining PDT and CDT. The ferrocene moieties endow the as-prepared conjugates with the ability of chemodynamic killing of tumor cells. Moreover, combined PDT/CDT therapy with improved antitumor efficiency can be realized after exposure to light irradiation. Compared with the monotherapy by PDT or CDT, the BODIPY-ferrocene conjugates can significantly increase the intracellular ROS levels of the tumor cells after light irradiation, thereby inducing the tumor cell apoptosis at low drug doses. In this way, a synergistic antitumor treatment is achieved by the combination of PDT and CDT.

RNA-Activatable Near-Infrared Photosensitizer for Cancer Therapy

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) has recently come to the forefront as an exceptionally powerful and promising method for the treatment of cancer. Existing photosensitizers are predominantly engineered to target diverse biomolecules, including proteins, DNA, lipids, and carbohydrates, and have proven to greatly enhance the efficacy or specificity of PDT. However, it is noteworthy that there exists a conspicuous scarcity of photosensitizers specifically designed to target RNAs. Recognizing the crucial and multifaceted roles played by RNAs in various cellular processes and disease states, we have ventured into the development of a novel RNA-targeting photosensitizer, named Se-718, designed specifically for PDT-based cancer therapy. Se-718 has been engineered to exhibit a high molar absorption coefficient in the NIR region, which is crucial for effective PDT. More importantly, Se-718 has demonstrated a distinct RNA-targeting capability, as evidenced through rigorous testing in both circular dichroism and fluorescence experiments. Furthermore, Se-718 has been shown to display both type I and type II photodynamic properties. This unique characteristic enables the efficient killing of cancer cells under a wide range of oxygen conditions, both normoxic (21% O2) and hypoxic (2% O2). The IC50 of Se-718 can be as low as 100 nM, and its light-to-dark toxicity ratio is an impressive 215 times higher, outperforming most photosensitizers currently available. Moreover, in vivo studies conducted with tumor-bearing mice have demonstrated the excellent antitumor effects and high safety profile of Se-718. Considering the outstanding PDT efficacy of Se-718, we are optimistic that the development of RNA-targeting photosensitizers may provide an innovative and highly effective option for cancer therapeutics in the near future.

Photosensitizer-Amplified Antimicrobial Materials for Broad-Spectrum Ablation of Resistant Pathogens in Ocular Infections

The emergence of multidrug resistant (MDR) pathogens and the scarcity of new potent antibiotics and antifungals are one of the biggest threats to human health. Antimicrobial photodynamic therapy (aPDT) combines light and photosensitizers to kill drug-resistant pathogens; however, there are limited materials that can effectively ablate different classes of infective pathogens. In the present work, a new class of benzodiazole-paired materials is designed as highly potent PDT agents with broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity upon illumination with nontoxic light. The results mechanistically demonstrate that the energy transfer and electron transfer between nonphotosensitive and photosensitive benzodiazole moieties embedded within pathogen-binding peptide sequences result in increased singlet oxygen generation and enhanced phototoxicity. Chemical optimization renders PEP3 as a novel PDT agent with remarkable activity against MDR bacteria and fungi as well as pathogens at different stages of development (e.g., biofilms, spores, and fungal hyphae), which also prove effective in an ex vivo porcine model of microbial keratitis. The chemical modularity of this strategy and its general compatibility with peptide-based targeting agents will accelerate the design of highly photosensitive materials for antimicrobial PDT.

Self-assembly-integrated tumor targeting and electron transfer programming towards boosting tumor type I photodynamic therapy

Type I photodynamic therapy (PDT) is attracting increasing interest as an effective solution to the poor prognosis of patients with hypoxic tumors. The development of functional type I photosensitizers is limited by a lack of feasible strategies to systematically modulate electron transfer (ET) in photosensitization. Herein, we present an easily accessible approach for the preparation of nanophotosensitizers with self-assembly-integrated tumor-targeting and ET programming towards boosting tumor type I PDT. Specifically, a dual functional amphiphile PS-02 was designed with a ligand (6-NS) that had the ability to not only target tumor cell marker carbonic anhydrase IX (CAIX) but also regulate the ET process for type I PDT. The amphiphile PS-02 tended to self-assemble into PS-02 nanoparticles (NPs), which exhibited a local "ET-cage effect" due to the electron-deficient nature of 6-NS. It is noteworthy that when PS-02 NPs selectively targeted the tumor cells, the CAIX binding enabled the uncaging of the inhibited ET process owing to the electron-rich characteristic of CAIX. Therefore, PS-02 NPs integrated tumor targeting and CAIX activation towards boosting type I PDT. As a proof of concept, the improved PDT performance of PS-02 NPs was demonstrated with tumor cells under hypoxic conditions and solid tumor tissue in mouse in vivo experiments. This work provides a practical paradigm to develop versatile type I PDT nano-photosensitizers by simply manipulating ET and easy self-assembling.

Fluorescent small molecule donors

Small molecule donors (SMDs) play subtle roles in the signaling mechanism and disease treatments. While many excellent SMDs have been developed, dosage control, targeted delivery, spatiotemporal feedback, as well as the efficiency evaluation of small molecules are still key challenges. Accordingly, fluorescent small molecule donors (FSMDs) have emerged to meet these challenges. FSMDs enable controllable release and non-invasive real-time monitoring, providing significant advantages for drug development and clinical diagnosis. Integration of FSMDs with chemotherapeutic, photodynamic or photothermal properties can take full advantage of each mode to enhance therapeutic efficacy. Given the remarkable properties and the thriving development of FSMDs, we believe a review is needed to summarize the design, triggering strategies and tracking mechanisms of FSMDs. With this review, we compiled FSMDs for most small molecules (nitric oxide, carbon monoxide, hydrogen sulfide, sulfur dioxide, reactive oxygen species and formaldehyde), and discuss recent progress concerning their molecular design, structural classification, mechanisms of generation, triggered release, structure-activity relationships, and the fluorescence response mechanism. Firstly, from the large number of fluorescent small molecular donors available, we have organized the common structures for producing different types of small molecules, providing a general strategy for the development of FSMDs. Secondly, we have classified FSMDs in terms of the respective donor types and fluorophore structures. Thirdly, we discuss the mechanisms and factors associated with the controlled release of small molecules and the regulation of the fluorescence responses, from which universal guidelines for optical properties and structure rearrangement were established, mainly involving light-controlled, enzyme-activated, reactive oxygen species-triggered, biothiol-triggered, single-electron reduction, click chemistry, and other triggering mechanisms. Fourthly, representative applications of FSMDs for trackable release, and evaluation monitoring, as well as for visible in vivo treatment are outlined, to illustrate the potential of FSMDs in drug screening and precision medicine. Finally, we discuss the opportunities and remaining challenges for the development of FSMDs for practical and clinical applications, which we anticipate will stimulate the attention of researchers in the diverse fields of chemistry, pharmacology, chemical biology and clinical chemistry. With this review, we hope to impart new understanding thereby enabling the rapid development of the next generation of FSMDs.

Nanobiotechnology augmented cancer stem cell guided management of cancer: liquid-biopsy, imaging, and treatment

Cancer stem cells (CSCs) represent both a key driving force and therapeutic target of tumoral carcinogenesis, tumor evolution, progression, and recurrence. CSC-guided tumor diagnosis, treatment, and surveillance are strategically significant in improving cancer patients' overall survival. Due to the heterogeneity and plasticity of CSCs, high sensitivity, specificity, and outstanding targeting are demanded for CSC detection and targeting. Nanobiotechnologies, including biosensors, nano-probes, contrast enhancers, and drug delivery systems, share identical features required. Implementing these techniques may facilitate the overall performance of CSC detection and targeting. In this review, we focus on some of the most recent advances in how nanobiotechnologies leverage the characteristics of CSC to optimize cancer diagnosis and treatment in liquid biopsy, clinical imaging, and CSC-guided nano-treatment. Specifically, how nanobiotechnologies leverage the attributes of CSC to maximize the detection of circulating tumor DNA, circulating tumor cells, and exosomes, to improve positron emission computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging, and to enhance the therapeutic effects of cytotoxic therapy, photodynamic therapy, immunotherapy therapy, and radioimmunotherapy are reviewed.

Glutaminolysis inhibition boosts photodynamic therapy to eliminate cancer stem cells

High reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels provide a therapeutic opportunity to eradicate cancer stem cells (CSCs), a population of cells responsible for tumorigenesis, progression, metastasis, and recurrence. However, enhanced antioxidant systems in this population of cells attenuate ROS-inducing therapies. Here, we developed a nanoparticle-assisted combination therapy to eliminate CSCs by employing photodynamic therapy (PDT) to yield ROS while disrupting ROS defense with glutaminolysis inhibition. Specifically, we leveraged an oleic acid-hemicyanine conjugate (CyOA) as photosensitizer, a new entity molecule HYL001 as glutaminolysis inhibitor, and a biocompatible folic acid-hydroxyethyl starch conjugate (FA-HES) as amphiphilic surfactant to construct cellular and mitochondrial hierarchical targeting nanomedicine (COHF NPs). COHF NPs inhibited glutaminolysis to reduce intracellular ROS scavengers, including glutathione (GSH) and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH), and to blunt oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) for oxygen-conserved PDT. Compared to COLF NPs without glutaminolysis inhibitor, COHF NPs exhibited higher phototoxicity to breast cancer stem cells (BCSCs) both in vitro and in vivo. More importantly, we corroborated that marketed glutaminolysis inhibitors, such as CB839 and V9302, augment the clinically used photosensitizer (Hiporfin) for BCSCs elimination. This study develops a potent CSCs targeting strategy by combining glutaminolysis inhibition with PDT and provides significant implications for cancer therapy.

Cu(II) flavonoids as potential photochemotherapeutic agents

Flavonoids, naturally derived polyphenolic compounds, have received significant attention due to their remarkable biochemical properties that offer substantial health benefits to humans. In this work, a series of six Cu(II) flavonoid complexes of the formulation [Cu(L1)(L2)](ClO4) where L1 is 3-hydroxy flavone (HF1, 1 and 4), 4-fluoro-3-hydroxy flavone (HF2, 2 and 5), and 2,6-difluoro-3-hydroxy flavone (HF3, 3 and 6); L2 is 1,10-phenanthroline (phen, 1-3) and 2-(anthracen-1-yl)-1H-imidazo[4,5-f][1,10]phenanthroline (aip, 4-6) were successfully synthesized, fully characterized and also evaluated for their in vitro photo-triggered cytotoxicity in cancer cells. The single-crystal X-ray diffraction structure of complex 2 shows square pyramidal geometry around the Cu(II) center. The complexes 1-6 showed quasi-reversible cyclic voltammetric responses for the Cu(II)/Cu(I) couple at ∼-0.230 V with a very large ΔEp value of ∼350-480 mV against the Ag/AgCl reference electrode in DMF-0.1 M tetrabutylammonium perchlorate (TBAP) at a scan rate of 50 mV s-1. The complexes were found to have considerable binding propensity for human serum albumin (HSA) and calf thymus DNA (ct-DNA). The complexes displayed remarkable dose-dependent photocytotoxicity in visible light (400-700 nm) in both A549 (human lung cancer) and MCF-7 (human breast cancer) cell lines while remaining significantly less toxic in darkness. They were found to be much less toxic to HPL1D (immortalized human peripheral lung epithelial) normal cells compared to A549 and MCF-7 cancer cells. Upon exposure to visible light, they generate reactive oxygen species, which are thought to be the main contributors to the death of cancer cells. In the presence of visible light, the complexes predominantly elicit an apoptotic mode of cell death. Complex 6 preferentially localizes in the mitochondria of A549 cells.

Antitumor studies evaluation of triphenylphosphine ruthenium complexes with 5,7-dihalo-substituted-8-quinolinoline targeting mitophagy pathways

Both ruthenium-containing complexes and 8-quinolinoline compounds have emerged as a potential novel agent for malignant tumor therapy. Here, three triphenylphosphine ruthenium complexes, [Ru(ZW1)(PPh3)2Cl2] (PPh3 = triphenylphosphine) (RuZ1), [Ru(ZW2)(PPh3)2Cl2] (RuZ2) and [Ru(ZW2)2(PPh3)Cl2]·CH2Cl2 (RuZ3) bearing 5,7-dichloro-8-quinolinol (H-ZW1) and 5,7-dichloro-8-hydroxyquinaldine (H-ZW2), have been synthesized, characterized and tested for their anticancer potential. We showed that triphenylphosphine ruthenium complexes RuZ1-RuZ3 impaired the cell viability of ovarian adenocarcinoma cisplatin-resistant SK-OV-3/DDP (SKO3CR) and SK-OV-3 (SKO3) cancer cells with greater selectivity and specificity than cisplatin. In addition, RuZ1-RuZ3 show higher excellent cytotoxicity than cisplatin towards SKO3CR cells, with IC50 values of 9.66 ± 1.08, 4.05 ± 0.67 and 7.18 ± 0.40 μM, respectively, in which the SKO3CR cells was the most sensitive to RuZ1-RuZ3. Depending on the substituent type, the antiproliferative ability of RuZ1-RuZ3 followed the trend: -CH3 > -H. However, RuZ1-RuZ3 have no obvious toxicity to normal cell HL-7702. Besides, RuZ1 and RuZ2 could induce mitophagy related-apoptosis pathways through suppression of mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨm), accumulation of [Ca2+] and reactive oxygen species (ROS), and regulation of LC3 II/LC3 I, Beclin-1, P62, FUNDC1, PINK1, Parkin, cleaved-caspase-3, caspase-9 and cytochrome c signaling pathway, and hindering the preparation of mitochondrial respiration complexes I and IV and ATP levels. Mechanistic study revealed that RuZ1 and RuZ2 induce apoptosis in SKO3CR cells via mitophagy related-apoptosis pathways induction and energy (ATP) generation disturbance. Taken together, the studied triphenylphosphine ruthenium complexes RuZ1-RuZ3 are promising chemotherapeutic agents with high effectiveness and low toxicity.

Are tumour-associated carbonic anhydrases genuine therapeutic targets for photodynamic therapy?

INTRODUCTION

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a reactive oxygen species (ROS)-dependent treatment modality which has emerged as an alternative cancer therapy strategy. However, in solid tumors, the therapeutic efficacy of PDT is strongly reduced by hypoxia, a typical feature of many such tumors. The tumor-associated carbonic anhydrases IX (hCA IX) and XII (hCA XII), which are overexpressed under hypoxia are attractive, validated anticancer drug targets in solid tumors. Current challenges in therapeutic design of effective PDT systems aim to overcome the limitation of hypoxia by developing synergistic CA-targeted therapies combining photosensitizers and hCA IX/XII inhibitors.

AREA COVERED

In this review, the current literature on the use of hCA IX/XII inhibitors (CAi) for targeting photosensitizing chemical systems useful for PDT against hypoxic solid tumors is summarized, along with recent progress, challenges, and future prospects.

EXPERT OPINION

hCA IX/XII-focused photosensitizers have recently provided new generation of compounds of considerable potential. Proof of concept of in vivo efficacy studies suggested enhanced efficacy for CAi-PDT hybrid systems. Further research is needed to deepen our understanding of how hCA IX/hCA XII inhibition can enhance PDT and for obtaining more effective such derivatives.

Effective Nanocomposite Based on Bi2MoO6/MoS2/AuNRs for NIR-II Light-Boosted Photodynamic/Chemodynamic Therapy

Bi₂MoO₆ (BMO) nanoparticles (NPs) have been widely used as a photocatalyst to decompose organic pollutants, but their potential for photodynamic therapy (PDT) is yet to be explored. Normally, the UV absorption property of BMO NPs is not suitable for clinical application because the penetration depth of the UV light is too small. To overcome this limitation, we rationally designed a novel nanocomposite based on Bi₂MoO₆/MoS₂/AuNRs (BMO-MSA), which simultaneously possesses both the high photodynamic ability and POD-like activity under NIR-II light irradiation. Additionally, it has excellent photothermal stability with good photothermal conversion efficiency. The as-prepared BMO-MSA nanocomposite could induce the germline apoptosis of Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) via the cep-1/p53 pathway after being illuminated by light with a wavelength of 1064 nm. The in vivo investigations confirmed the ability of the BMO-MSA nanocomposite for the induction of DNA damage in the worms, and the mechanism was approved by determining the egl-1 fold induction in the mutants that have a loss of function in the genes involved in DNA damage response mutants. Thus, this work has not only provided a novel PDT agent, which may be used for PDT in the NIR-II region, but also introduced a new approach to therapy, taking advantage of both PDT and CDT effects.