Study of the Photodynamic Activity of N-Doped TiO₂ Nanoparticles Conjugated with Aluminum Phthalocyanine

Xiaobo Pan; Xinyue Liang; Longfang Yao; Xinyi Wang; Yueyue Jing; Jiong Ma; Yiyan Fei; Li Chen; Lan Mi

doi:10.3390/nano7100338

Study of the Photodynamic Activity of N-Doped TiO₂ Nanoparticles Conjugated with Aluminum Phthalocyanine

Nanomaterials (Basel). 2017 Oct 20;7(10):338. doi: 10.3390/nano7100338.

Authors

Xiaobo Pan¹, Xinyue Liang², Longfang Yao³, Xinyi Wang⁴, Yueyue Jing⁵, Jiong Ma⁶, Yiyan Fei⁷, Li Chen⁸, Lan Mi⁹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Optical Science and Engineering, Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Ultra-Precision Optical Manufacturing, Green Photoelectron Platform, Fudan University, 220 Handan Road, Shanghai 200433, China. 11110720002@fudan.edu.cn.
² Department of Optical Science and Engineering, Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Ultra-Precision Optical Manufacturing, Green Photoelectron Platform, Fudan University, 220 Handan Road, Shanghai 200433, China. 14307130398@fudan.edu.cn.
³ Department of Optical Science and Engineering, Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Ultra-Precision Optical Manufacturing, Green Photoelectron Platform, Fudan University, 220 Handan Road, Shanghai 200433, China. 17110720023@fudan.edu.cn.
⁴ Department of Optical Science and Engineering, Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Ultra-Precision Optical Manufacturing, Green Photoelectron Platform, Fudan University, 220 Handan Road, Shanghai 200433, China. 16210720013@fudan.edu.cn.
⁵ Department of Optical Science and Engineering, Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Ultra-Precision Optical Manufacturing, Green Photoelectron Platform, Fudan University, 220 Handan Road, Shanghai 200433, China. yyjing16@fudan.edu.cn.
⁶ Department of Optical Science and Engineering, Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Ultra-Precision Optical Manufacturing, Green Photoelectron Platform, Fudan University, 220 Handan Road, Shanghai 200433, China. jiongma@fudan.edu.cn.
⁷ Department of Optical Science and Engineering, Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Ultra-Precision Optical Manufacturing, Green Photoelectron Platform, Fudan University, 220 Handan Road, Shanghai 200433, China. fyy@fudan.edu.cn.
⁸ School of Arts and Sciences, MCPHS University, 179 Longwood Ave, Boston, MA 02115, USA. lichenphy@gmail.com.
⁹ Department of Optical Science and Engineering, Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Ultra-Precision Optical Manufacturing, Green Photoelectron Platform, Fudan University, 220 Handan Road, Shanghai 200433, China. lanmi@fudan.edu.cn.

Abstract

TiO₂ nanoparticles modified with phthalocyanines (Pc) have been proven to be a potential photosensitizer in the application of photodynamic therapy (PDT). However, the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) by TiO₂ nanoparticles modified with Pc has not been demonstrated clearly. In this study, nitrogen-doped TiO₂ conjugated with Pc (N-TiO₂-Pc) were studied by means of monitoring the generation of ROS. The absorbance and photokilling effect on HeLa cells upon visible light of different regions were also studied and compared with non-doped TiO₂-Pc and Pc. Both N-TiO₂-Pc and TiO₂-Pc can be activated by visible light and exhibited much higher photokilling effect on HeLa cells than Pc. In addition, nitrogen-doping can greatly enhance the formation of ¹O₂ and •O₂^-, while it suppresses the generation of OH•. This resulted in significant photodynamic activity. Therefore, N-TiO₂-Pc can be an excellent candidate for a photosensitizer in PDT with wide-spectrum visible irradiation.

Keywords: photodynamic therapy; phthalocyanine; reactive oxygen species; titanium dioxide.