Nanoparticles in photodynamic therapy: An emerging paradigm

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) has emerged as one of the important therapeutic options in management of cancer and other diseases [M. Triesscheijn, P. Baas, J.H. Schellens, F.A. Stewart, Photodynamic therapy in oncology, Oncologist 11 (2006) 1034–1044]. Most photosensitizers are highly hydrophobic and require delivery systems. Previous classification of delivery systems was based on presence or absence of a targeting molecule on the surface [Y.N. Konan, R. Gurny, E. Allemann, State of the art in the delivery of photosensitizers for photodynamic therapy, J. Photochem. Photobiol., B 66 (2002) 89–106]. Recent reports have described carrier nanoparticles with additional active complementary and supplementary roles in PDT. We introduce a functional classification for nanoparticles in PDT to divide them into passive carriers and active participants in photosensitizer excitation. Active nanoparticles are distinguished from non-biodegradable carriers with extraneous functions, and sub-classified mechanistically into photosensitizer nanoparticles, [A.C. Samia, X. Chen, C. Burda, Semiconductor quantum dots for photodynamic therapy, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 125 (2003) 15736–15737, R. Bakalova, H. Ohba, Z. Zhelev, M. Ishikawa, Y. Baba, Quantum dots as photosensitizers? Nat. Biotechnol. 22 (2004) 1360–1361] self-illuminating nanoparticles [W. Chen, J. Zhang, Using nanoparticles to enable simultaneous radiation and photodynamic therapies for cancer treatment, J. Nanosci. Nanotechnology 6 (2006) 1159–1166] and upconverting nanoparticles [P. Zhang, W. Steelant, M. Kumar, M. Scholfield, Versatile photosensitizers for photodynamic therapy at infrared excitation, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 129 (2007) 4526–4527]. Although several challenges remain before they can be adopted for clinical use, these active or second-generation PDT nanoparticles probably offer the best hope for extending the reach of PDT to regions deep in the body.