Therapeutic Considerations and Conjugated Polymer‐Based Photosensitizers for Photodynamic Therapy

• Published in: Macromolecular rapid communications. Vol. 39; no. 5
• Main Authors: Meng, Zihui, Hou, Weiying, Zhou, Hua, Zhou, Libo, Chen, Haobin, Wu, Changfeng
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Germany Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01.03.2018
• Subjects: Biopolymers; Cancer; conjugated polymers; Energy harvesting; Energy Transfer; Humans; Identification; Nanoparticles; Nanoparticles - chemistry; Neoplasms - therapy; Photochemotherapy - methods; Photochemotherapy - trends; Photodynamic therapy; photosensitizers; Photosensitizing Agents - chemistry; Photosensitizing Agents - therapeutic use; Polyelectrolytes; Polyelectrolytes - chemistry; Polymers; Polymers - chemistry; Singlet oxygen; Singlet Oxygen - chemistry; Therapeutic applications; cancer; nanoparticles; photosensitizers; photodynamic therapy; conjugated polymers
• ISSN: 1022-1336; 1521-3927; 1521-3927
• DOI: 10.1002/marc.201700614

Conjugated polymers have recently attracted a great deal of attention for applications in photodynamic therapy (PDT) because of their light‐harvesting capability, efficient energy transfer, and singlet oxygen generation properties. This review describes recent advances in PDT development, including therapeutic mechanisms of PDT in cancer treatments, light excitation methods, and especially recent advances of conjugated polyelectrolytes and conjugated polymer nanoparticles as photosensitizers. The future direction on PDT and further development of conjugated polymer photosensitizers are discussed. The aim of this review is to stimulate innovative ideas to synthesize a new generation of conjugated polymer photosensitizers and promote their translation to clinical applications of PDT. Conjugated polymers show great potential for applications in cancer therapeutics. Their large absorption cross sections and energy transfer properties are unique for the design of efficient photosensitizers. This review summarizes the main therapeutic mechanisms of photodynamic therapy in cancer treatments, especially the recent advances of conjugated polyelectrolytes and conjugated polymer nanoparticle as photosensitizers.