Photosensitizer efficiency in genetically modified protein cage architectures.

A Ru(bpy)(3)(2+) photosensitizer was covalently linked at specific sites on the interior or exterior surface of genetic constructs of a small heat shock protein cage nanoplatform and the light activated production of singlet oxygen was characterized.

Targeting and photodynamic killing of a microbial pathogen using protein cage architectures functionalized with a photosensitizer.

The selectivity of antimicrobial photodynamic therapy (PDT) can be enhanced by coupling the photosensitizer (PS) to a targeting ligand. Nanoplatforms provide a medium for designing delivery vehicles that incorporate both functional attributes. We report here the photodynamic inactivation of a pathogenic bacterium, Staphylococcus aureus, using targeted nanoplatforms conjugated to a photosensitizer (PS).