Photodynamic Anticancer Activity of CoFe2O4 Nanoparticles Conjugated with Hematoporphyrin.

This work reports the synthesis and the characterization of water-soluble and biocompatible photosensitizer (PS)-conjugated magnetic nanoparticles composed of a cobalt ferrite (CoFe2O4) magnetic core coated with a biocompatible hematoporphyrin (HP) shell. The photo-functional cobalt ferrite magnetic nanoparticles (CoFe2O4@HP) were uniform in size, stable against PS leaching, and highly efficient in the photo-generation of cytotoxic singlet oxygen under visible light. With the CoFe2O4@HP, we acquired in vitro MR images of cancer cells (PC-3) and confirmed good biocompatibility of the CoFe2O4@HP in both normal and cancer cells.