Enhancing antitumor efficacy of NIR-I region zinc phthalocyanine@upconversion nanoparticle through lysosomal escape and mitochondria targeting.

Accurately visualizing the intracellular trafficking of upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) loaded with phthalocyanines and achieving precise photodynamic therapy (PDT) using near-infrared (NIR) laser irradiation still present challenges. In this study, a novel NIR laser-triggered upconversion luminescence (UCL) imaging-guided nanoparticle called FA@TPA-NH-ZnPc@UCNPs (FTU) was developed for PDT. FTU consisted of UCNPs, folic acid (FA), and triphenylamino-phenylaniline zinc phthalocyanine (TPA-NH-ZnPc).

Tetraphenylethylene-based AIE nanoprobes for labeling lysosome by two-photon imaging in living cells.

Lysosomes are essential cellular organelles, serving vital functions in cellular metabolism and degradation. The design of specifically targeting lysosomes probes with aggregation-induced emission (AIE) characteristics using two-photon excitation techniques is significance and challenging work. Here we designed and synthesized two tetraphenylethylene (TPE)-based AIE fluorescence probes, naming TPE-Ma and TPE-Py, with TPE as the matrix and morpholine (Ma) or pyrrolidone (Py) as the targeting group.

A piperazine-substituted phthalocyanine with rapid cellular uptake and dual organelle-targeting for in vitro photodynamic therapy.

The rational design of photosensitizers with rapid cellular uptake and dual-organelle targeting ability is essential for enhancing the efficacy of photodynamic therapy (PDT). However, achieving this goal is a great challenge. In this paper, a novel axial piperazine substituted (PIP) silicon phthalocyanine (PIP-SiPc) has been synthesized.