A hetero-bimetallic Ru(ii)–Ir(iii) photosensitizer for effective cancer photodynamic therapy under hypoxia

Abstract

A hetero-bimetallic Ru(II)–Ir(III) photosensitizer was developed. Upon light exposure, contrary to the homogeneous Ru(II)–Ru(II) and Ir(III)–Ir(III) complexes that can only produce singlet oxygen, Ru(II)–Ir(III) can generate multiple reactive oxygen species and kill hypoxic tumors. This study presents the first example of a hetero-bimetallic type-I and type-II dual photosensitizer.