Zinc phthalocyanine conjugated with the amino-terminal fragment of urokinase for tumor-targeting photodynamic therapy

Conjugation of ATF with zinc phthalocyanine (ZnPc) renders ZnPc soluble in water and generates a conjugate highly specific to uPAR-abundant tumor cells. ATF-ZnPc preferentially accumulates in lysosome organelle, mainly through uPA receptor-dependent endocytosis, and induces cell death upon light illumination.148