An upconversion nanoparticle - Zinc phthalocyanine based nanophotosensitizer for photodynamic therapy

Recent advances in NIR triggering upconversion-based photodynamic therapy have led to substantial improvements in upconversion-based nanophotosensitizers. How to obtain the high efficiency of singlet oxygen generation under low 980 nm radiation dosage still remains a challenge. A highly efficient nanophotosensitizer, denoted as UCNPs-ZnPc, was constructed for photodynamic therapy, which is based on near infrared (NIR) light upconversion nanoparticle (UCNP) and Zn(II)-phthalocyanine (ZnPc) photosensitizer (PS). The high 1O2 production efficiency came from the enhancement of the 660 nm upconversion emission of NaYF4:Yb3+, Er3+ UCNP with 25% Yb3+ doping, covalent assemblage of UCNP and ZnPc which significantly shortened the distance and enhanced the energy transfer between the two. The high 1O2 production led to a secure and efficient PDT treatment, as evidenced by the in vivo test where UCNPs-ZnPc of 50 mg per kg body weight was locally injected into the liver tumor in mice, a low 980 nm radiation dose of 351 J/cm2 (0.39 W/cm2) and short irradiation duration of 15 min were sufficient to perform image-guided PDT and caused the liver tumor inhibitory ratio of approximately 80.1%. Histological analysis revealed no pathological changes and inflammatory response in heart, lung, kidney, liver or spleen.