Water Solubilization and Thermal Stimuli-Triggered Release of Porphyrin Derivatives Using Thermoresponsive Polysaccharide Hydroxypropyl Cellulose for Mitochondria-Targeted Photodynamic Therapy

With minimal invasiveness and spatiotemporal therapeutic effects, photodynamic therapy is one of the most elegant strategies for achieving effective tumor therapy. Herein, a facile preparation and thermal process-triggered release of water-soluble photosensitizer 5,10,15,20-tetrakis(4-hydroxyphenyl)porphyrin (THPP) has been developed using a thermoresponsive polysaccharide, hydroxypropyl cellulose. Current systems using hydroxypropyl cellulose enable manipulation of the loading capacity of THPP into a polymer matrix and the size of the complex by varying the temperature of the solution in preparation. Furthermore, current systems have enabled the release of THPP using a heating process, mimicking the surrounding of mitochondria, and have resulted in THPP potency as a mitochondria-targeted photodynamic therapy.