Ligand-Targeted Delivery of Photosensitizers for Cancer Treatment

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a promising cancer treatment which involves a photosensitizer (PS), light at a specific wavelength for PS activation and oxygen, which combine to elicit cell death. While the illumination required to activate a PS imparts a certain amount of selectivity to PDT treatment...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) Switzerland), 2020-11, Vol.25 (22), p.5317
Main Authors: Gierlich, Piotr, Mata, Ana I, Donohoe, Claire, Brito, Rui M M, Senge, Mathias O, Gomes-da-Silva, Lígia C
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
active targeting
Antibodies
Cancer
Cancer therapies
Cell death
Conjugation
drug delivery
Drug Delivery Systems
Drugs
Growth factors
Humans
Internalization
Ligands
Metastasis
nanocarriers
Nanoparticles - chemistry
Neoplasms - drug therapy
Peptides - chemistry
Photodynamic therapy
Photosensitivity
Photosensitizing Agents - therapeutic use
Review
Selectivity
Stem cells
Tumors
Vitamin B
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Summary:Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a promising cancer treatment which involves a photosensitizer (PS), light at a specific wavelength for PS activation and oxygen, which combine to elicit cell death. While the illumination required to activate a PS imparts a certain amount of selectivity to PDT treatments, poor tumor accumulation and cell internalization are still inherent properties of most intravenously administered PSs. As a result, common consequences of PDT include skin photosensitivity. To overcome the mentioned issues, PSs may be tailored to specifically target overexpressed biomarkers of tumors. This active targeting can be achieved by direct conjugation of the PS to a ligand with enhanced affinity for a target overexpressed on cancer cells and/or other cells of the tumor microenvironment. Alternatively, PSs may be incorporated into ligand-targeted nanocarriers, which may also encompass multi-functionalities, including diagnosis and therapy. In this review, we highlight the major advances in active targeting of PSs, either by means of ligand-derived bioconjugates or by exploiting ligand-targeting nanocarriers.
ISSN:1420-3049
1420-3049
DOI:10.3390/molecules25225317