Gold nanoclusters as a GSH activated mitochondrial targeting photosensitizer for efficient treatment of malignant tumors.

Gold nanoclusters (Au NCs), which have the characteristics of small size, near infrared (NIR) absorption and long triplet excited lifetime, have been used as a new type of photosensitizer for deep tissue photodynamic therapy (PDT). However, the therapeutic efficiency of the nano-system based on Au NCs still needs to be improved. Herein, we proposed a strategy using Mito-Au@MnO nanocomposites to achieve enhanced PDT.