Cascade Reactions by Nitric Oxide and Hydrogen Radical for Anti-Hypoxia Photodynamic Therapy Using an Activatable Photosensitizer

J Am Chem Soc. 2021 Jan 20;143(2):868-878. doi: 10.1021/jacs.0c10517. Epub 2021 Jan 8.

Abstract

Organelle-targeted activatable photosensitizers are attractive to improve the specificity and controllability of photodynamic therapy (PDT), however, they suffer from a big problem in the photoactivity under both normoxia and hypoxia due to the limited diversity of phototoxic species (mainly reactive oxygen species). Herein, by effectively photocaging a π-conjugated donor-acceptor (D-A) structure with an N-nitrosamine substituent, we established a unimolecular glutathione and light coactivatable photosensitizer, which achieved its high performance PDT effect by targeting mitochondria through both type I and type II (dual type) reactions as well as secondary radicals-participating reactions. Of peculiar interest, hydrogen radical (H) was detected by electron spin resonance technique. The generation pathway of H via reduction of proton and its role in type I reaction were discussed. We demonstrated that the synergistic effect of multiple reactive species originated from tandem cascade reactions comprising reduction of O2 by H to form O2•-/HO2 and downstream reaction of O2•- with NO to yield ONOO-. With a relatively large two-photon absorption cross section for photoexcitation in the near-infrared region (166 ± 22 GM at 800 nm) and fluorogenic property, the new photosensitizing system is very promising for broad biomedical applications, particularly low-light dose PDT, in both normoxic and hypoxic environments.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Free Radicals / antagonists & inhibitors
  • Free Radicals / metabolism
  • Humans
  • Hydrogen / metabolism*
  • Mitochondria / drug effects
  • Mitochondria / metabolism
  • Molecular Structure
  • Nitric Oxide / antagonists & inhibitors*
  • Nitric Oxide / metabolism
  • Photochemotherapy*
  • Photosensitizing Agents / chemistry
  • Photosensitizing Agents / pharmacology*

Substances

  • Free Radicals
  • Photosensitizing Agents
  • Nitric Oxide
  • Hydrogen