Title:Targeting Cancer Cells with Photoactive Silica Nanoparticles
Volume: 22
Issue: 39
Author(s): Wioleta Borzęcka, Tito Trindade, Tomás Torres and João Tomé
Affiliation:
Keywords:
Porphyrins, Phthalocyanines, Photosensitizers, Silica Nanoparticles, PDT, Cancer.
Abstract: This review highlights recent advances in the preparation of silica nanoparticles
(SNPs) functionalized with porphyrins and phthalocyanines for application in cancer photodiagnostic
and photodynamic therapy (PDT). The use of photosensitizer-SNP formulations
has emerged recently as a new nanomedicine for cancer research owing to their unique physicochemical
properties, which make them useful for photo-biomedical applications. In order
to study their photobiological properties, diverse chemical strategies involving covalent and
non-covalent bonding have been used to load photosensitizers in/on SNPs.
