Precise ligand engineering of Ir(III)-based photosensitizer with aggregation-induced emission for image-guided photodynamic therapy |
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| Authors: | Jialin Tong Ao Liu Shanshan Huang Dan Zhou Ying Gao Yan Wang Guo-Gang Shan |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Institute of Functional Material Chemistry and National & Local United Engineering Lab for Power Battery, Faculty of Chemistry, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, China;2. Jilin Provincial Key Laboratory of Straw-Based Functional Materials, Institute for Interdisciplinary Biomass Functional Materials Studies, Jilin Engineering Normal University, Changchun, China;3. Engineering Research Center of Advanced Ferroelectric Functional Materials, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Baoji University of Arts and Sciences, Key Laboratory of Phytochemistry of Shaanxi Province, Baoji, China |
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| Abstract: | Photodynamic therapy (PDT), which relies on the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) induced by a photosensitizer to kill cancer cells, has become a non-invasive approach to combat cancer. However, the conventional aggregation-caused quenching effect, as well as the low ROS generation ability of photosensitizers, restrict their biological applications. In this work, a new Ir(III) complex with a dendritic ligand has been strategically designed and synthesized by ingenious modification of the ancillary ligand of a reported Ir(III) complex ( Ir-1 ). The extended π-conjugation and multiple aromatic donor moieties endow the resulting complex Ir-2 with obvious aggregation-induced emission (AIE) activity and bathochromic emission. In in vitro experiments, importantly, Ir-2 nanoparticles exhibit the excellent photoinduced ROS generation capabilities of O2•− and 1O2, as well as excellent biocompatibility and the lipid droplets (LDs) targeting feature. This study would provide useful guidance to design efficient Ir(III)-based photosensitizers used in biological applications in the future. |
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| Keywords: | aggregation-induced emission Ir(III) complex photodynamic therapy reactive oxygen species |
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