A D–π–A featured type-I photosensitizer with NIR-II fluorescence emission for imaging-guided synergistic PDT and PTT cancer therapy

• Published in: Dyes and pigments Vol. 240; p. 112851
• Main Authors: Zhang, Ruohui, Zhou, Wei, He, Di, Zhou, Weiping, Liu, Chang, Li, Ying, Han, Wenzhao, Li, Mengyao, Zhang, Siyu, Yu, Cong
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Ltd 01.09.2025
• Subjects: Aggregation-induced emission; Imaging-guided therapy; Multi-modality phototheranostics; Near-infrared II fluorescence emission; Type-I photosensitizer; Near-infrared II fluorescence emission; Type-I photosensitizer; Multi-modality phototheranostics; Aggregation-induced emission; Imaging-guided therapy
• ISSN: 0143-7208
• DOI: 10.1016/j.dyepig.2025.112851

Photosensitizers (PSs) with aggregation-induced emission (AIE) characteristics, near-infrared II (NIR-II) fluorescence emission, synergistic type-I photodynamic therapy (PDT) and photothermal therapy (PTT), have grown into an innovative frontier in materials and cancer research. In this study, we introduce an organic NIR-II PS named MTTCY with a donor-π-acceptor (D-π-A) structure. MTTCY exhibits a prominent capacity to generate superoxide anions (O2•−) and hydroxyl radicals (•OH) upon 685 nm laser irradiation, indicating its potential for high-performance hypoxic oncotherapy. To enhance biocompatibility, an amphiphilic polymer was used to encapsulate MTTCY. The resulting nanoparticles, MTTCY NPs, display fluorescence emission extending into the NIR-II region (up to 1000 nm), high photothermal conversion efficiency (PCE) of 36.27 %, and outstanding effectiveness in producing reactive oxygen species (ROS). Utilizing 4T1 tumor-bearing mice as a model, in vivo experiments were successfully conducted, demonstrating that MTTCY NPs could effectively inhibit hypoxic tumor proliferation using NIR-II fluorescence imaging (FLI) guided type-I PDT and PTT. •A novel near-infrared-II (NIR-II) aggregation-induced emission (AIE) photosensitizer has been developed.•MTTCY NPs achieve a good photothermal conversion efficiency of 36.27% and produce type I reactive oxygen species.•MTTCY NPs show significant potential in NIR-II fluorescence imaging-guided cancer phototherapy.