Open AccessMultifunctional Phosphorescent Conjugated Polymer Dots for Hypoxia Imaging and Photodynamic Therapy of Cancer Cells
Author(s) -
Zhou Xiaobo,
Liang Hua,
Jiang Pengfei,
Zhang Kenneth Yin,
Liu Shujuan,
Yang Tianshe,
Zhao Qiang,
Yang Lijuan,
Lv Wen,
Yu Qi,
Huang Wei
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
advanced science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.388
H-Index - 100
ISSN - 2198-3844
DOI - 10.1002/advs.201500155
Subject(s) - phosphorescence , photodynamic therapy , flow cytometry , photosensitizer , photochemistry , chemistry , biophysics , fluorescence , cancer cell , porphyrin , conjugated system , intracellular , fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy , mtt assay , cancer research , cancer , cell , polymer , medicine , microbiology and biotechnology , biology , biochemistry , optics , organic chemistry , physics
Molecular oxygen (O 2 ) plays a key role in many physiological processes, and becomes a toxicant to kill cells when excited to 1 O 2 . Intracellular O 2 levels, or the degree of hypoxia, are always viewed as an indicator of cancers. Due to the highly efficient cancer therapy ability and low side effect, photodynamic therapy (PDT) becomes one of the most promising treatments for cancers. Herein, an early‐stage diagnosis and therapy system is reported based on the phosphorescent conjugated polymer dots (Pdots) containing Pt(II) porphyrin as an oxygen‐responsive phosphorescent group and 1 O 2 photosensitizer. Intracellular hypoxia detection has been investigated. Results show that cells treated with Pdots display longer lifetimes under hypoxic conditions, and time‐resolved luminescence images exhibit a higher signal‐to‐noise ratio after gating off the short‐lived background fluorescence. Quantification of O 2 is realized by the ratiometric emission intensity of phosphorescence/fluorescence and the lifetime of phosphorescence. Additionally, the PDT efficiency of Pdots is estimated by flow cytometry, MTT cell viability assay, and in situ imaging of PDT induced cell death. Interestingly, Pdots exhibit a high PDT efficiency and would be promising in clinical applications.