Poly(styrene--maleic acid) Micelle of Photosensitizers for Targeted Photodynamic Therapy, Exhibits Prolonged Singlet Oxygen Generating Capacity and Superior Intracellular Uptake.

Targeted therapy by using nanomedicines based on the enhanced permeability and retention (EPR) effect is becoming a promising anticancer strategy. Many nano-designed photosensitizers (PSs) for photodynamic therapy (PDT) have been developed which show superior therapeutic potentials than free PS. To further understand the advantages of nano-designed PS, in this study, we used styrene-co-maleyl telomer (SMA) as a polymer platform to prepare a micellar type of PS with two well-characterized PSs-rose bengal (RB) and methylene blue (MB)-and evaluated the outmatching benefits of SMA-PS micelles, especially focusing on the singlet oxygen (O) generation capacity and intracellular uptake profiles.