Switching between type I/II photosensitization processes for of an unconventional dye as modulated by the tumor microenvironment for inducing immunogenic death†
Abstract
In this work, an unconventional Se-substituted hemicyanine dye (HCySe–O–NO2) decorated with a p-nitrophenyl moiety as a recognition site was investigated. Its type I/II photosensitization processes could be regulated by the tumor microenvironment, alleviating the oxygen dependence of conventional photodynamic therapy (PDT) for the treatment of solid tumors. Upon being exposed to 760-nm-wavelength laser irradiation, cancer cells treated with HCySe–O–NO2 exhibited the phenomenon of pyroptosis, resulting in an amplification of cellular immunogenic death (ICD), and hence demonstrating the potential value of this dye for photoimmunotherapy.
- This article is part of the themed collection: 2025 Emerging Investigators