Themed collection Photodynamic Therapy (PDT)

This review will focus on the use of PDT with targeted photosensitisers or nanoparticles to treat pancreatic cancer in recent studies (2020–2025) from in vitro to in vivo experiments and clinical applications.

Strategies of conquering hypoxic tumors with nano-PSs for enhanced the efficacy of PDT.

A photosensitizer (PS), which can generate reactive oxygen species (ROS) under laser irradiation, is a decisive factor in the efficacy of PDT.

This review summarizes recent advances in NIR-II fluorescence-guided type-I PDT, focusing on material design and performance breakthroughs to overcome the limitations of phototheranostics in unsatisfactory tissue penetration and oxygen dependence.

Two together are more than two: the synergistic effects of combined phototherapeutics.

Recent clinical treatment modalities for GBM are systematically examined, the advances in nanotechnology-based novel photosensitizers for GBM treatment are summarized, and the drug delivery strategies utilized in PDT are discussed.

Ultrasmall gold nanoclusters (Au NCs) enable precise synthesis, tunable optical properties, and versatile biomedical applications including multimodal imaging, biosensing, and phototherapy for advanced disease diagnosis and treatment.

Since its ancient origin, PDT and its modern innovations have expanded activation to X-rays, lasers, and ultrasonic waves while incorporating coatings, targeting groups, and 3D porous materials to synergize to create selective and robust treatments.

This review argues that the field is advancing from circumventing to reversing and ultimately leveraging limitations to activate systemic anti-tumor immunity. This perspective offers a powerful new lens to view current and future developments.

The programmed self-assembled chromopeptides optimize thermal generation by supramolecular photothermal effect allowing for precise diagnostic imaging and TME resposes with combined photo-immunotherapy.

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a minimally invasive treatment modality characterized by high spatiotemporal precision and controllability, showcasing extensive potential applications in the biomedical field in recent years.

This review summarizes recent advances in water-soluble phthalocyanines, switchable phthalocyanine aggregates and stable phthalocyanine aggregates for photodynamic therapy.

Gas-synergized PDT can be leveraged for improved antitumor therapy based on different types of gases, the synergetic mechanisms and design of nanoplatforms.

Cyclometalated Ir(III) and Ru(II) complexes harness Type I photoreactivity to overcome oxygen limitations in photodynamic therapy.

This review highlights supramolecular photosensitizers (PSs) via host–guest interaction, emphasizing their performance regulation, the targeted activation of “OFF-state” supramolecular PSs and “Lego-like” multifunctional modification of nano-PSs.

This review overviews innovative strategies in redox environment-mediated photodynamic therapy (PDT), particularly highlighting contributions to the new concept of reductive PDT that involves reactive hydrogen species (RHS) fighting tumour hypoxia.

This review summarizes recent advances in the development of functional glycoconjugates for biosensing, bioimaging and phototherapy.

Cancer stem cells have emerged as an interesting field in oncology due to their metastatic and resistance potential to chemotherapy and radiation therapy, resulting in the resurfacing of cancer even after multiple treatment attempts.

This review highlights the design of peptide-based photosensitive nanodrugs for photodynamic therapy, focusing on noncovalent interactions, structural design principles, and functional integration to improve therapeutic outcomes.

The NIR active Ni-1-Cip antimicrobial agent functions as an effective chem-photothermal system, demonstrating both photothermal and antibiotic properties to combat bacterial infections and facilitate wound healing.

Asymmetric D–π–A BODIPY photosensitizer 5c, based-on a mono-naphtho[b]-fused BODIPY core substituted with 8-trifluoromethylphenyl, 3-(4-methylthiopheneethylene), and 2-iodine groups, adopts a distorted structure.

The role of the metal in Ru(II)- and Os(II)-carbonylchlorido complexes as promising photosensitizers for PDT applications.

A tumor pre-targeted photosensitizer, ZnPPA@Tz–BSA, was constructed, which worked with P-TCO through a sequential “two-step” process in vivo, enabling specific enrichment of ZnPPA@Tz–BSA for effective tumor photodynamic therapy (PDT).

A matrix metalloproteinase-sensitive iridium(III)-based hydrogel selectively delivered lysosome-targeting iridium(III) complexes to cancer cells in response to elevated enzyme activity, offering a promising strategy for cancer imaging and therapy.

This work highlights the development of cyclometallated Ir(III) complexes with distinct photodynamic and chemotherapeutic potentials, driven by structure-dependent subcellular targeting.

A triple-functional fluorescent probe (CBFO-LZ) was developed with integrated capabilities for lipid droplet (LD) targeting, polarity monitoring, and ROS generation.

We report a side-chain engineering strategy for modulating the PDT pathways of poly(p-phenylene ethynylene) derivatives. By tailoring the side-chain functionalities, we try to regulate ROS generation and simultaneously tune their Pt binding affinity.

A dinuclear Ir(III) complex Ir-dtz-Ir was developed to act as a Type I/II photosensitizer. Upon irradiation, it induces ferroptosis and immunogenic cell death for boosting photoimmunotherapy against hypoxic melanoma.

A heavy-atom-free photosensitizer activated by hydroxyl radicals allows for the NIR-II fluorescence imaging and selective photodynamic treatment of cancer cells.

Two cyclometalated Ru(II) complexes functionalized with a modified Nile Blue derivative were developed to address the therapeutic limitations of traditional Ru(II)-based photosensitizers.

We report the synthesis and biological evaluation of a tetranuclear Ru(II)–Pt(II) complex activated by red light (630 nm).

A conjugated polymer P1 with an organoplatinum-bridged BODIPY-fluorene structure is developed for synergistic photodynamic, photothermal and chemotherapy.

A dormant photosensitizer, EtNBS-2C-Tro, was developed for tumor-selective photodynamic therapy through activation by ROS. EtNBS-2C-Tro facilitates NIR fluorescence imaging of endogenous ROS and exhibits a potent anticancer effect.

An axially substituted polypyridyl Re(CO)₃ complex bearing bexarotene induced apoptosis selectively in cancer cells by activating caspase-3/7 pathways through ROS generation and NADH oxidation upon visible light treatment.

This study presents a near-infrared light-triggered covalent nanodrug that integrates singlet oxygen therapy along with photothermal therapy.

We report the first sequential near-infrared enzyme-specific chemiluminescent probe by minimizing steric hindrance at the recognition site to deliver robust in situ chemiluminescence.