Department of Biomedical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad, Kandi, Telangana 502285, India.
ACS Appl Bio Mater. 2023 Feb 20;6(2):349-364. doi: 10.1021/acsabm.2c00891. Epub 2023 Jan 26.
Conventional cancer treatment modalities are often associated with major therapeutic limitations and severe side effects. Photodynamic therapy is a localized noninvasive mode of treatment that has given a different direction to cancer research due to its effectivity against a wide range of cancers and minimal side effects. A photosensitizer is the key component of photodynamic therapy (PDT) that generates cytotoxic reactive oxygen species to eradicate cancer cells. As the therapeutic effectivity of PDT greatly depends upon the photosensitizer, great efforts have been made to search for an ideal photosensitizer. Chlorin e6 is a FDA approved second generation photosensitizer that meets the desired clinical properties for PDT. It is known for its high reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation ability and anticancer potency against many types of cancer. Hydrophobicity is a major drawback of Ce6 that leads to its poor biodistribution and rapid clearance from the circulatory system. To overcome this drawback, researchers have designed and fabricated several types of nanosystems, which can enhance Ce6 solubility and thereby enhance its bioavailability. These nanosystems also improve tumor accumulation of Ce6 by selectively targeting the cancer cells through passive and active targeting. In addition, Ce6 has been employed in many combination therapies like chemo-photodynamic therapy, photoimmunotherapy, and combined photodynamic-photothermal therapy. A combination therapy is more curative than a single therapy due to the synergistic effects of individual therapies. Ce6-based nanosystems for combination therapies have shown excellent results in various studies and provide a promising platform for cancer treatment.
传统的癌症治疗方法常常存在着重大的治疗局限性和严重的副作用。光动力疗法是一种局部的非侵入性治疗方式，由于其对广泛的癌症有效且副作用极小，因此为癌症研究开辟了新的方向。光敏剂是光动力疗法（PDT）的关键组成部分，它能产生细胞毒性的活性氧物质来消灭癌细胞。由于 PDT 的治疗效果在很大程度上取决于光敏剂，因此人们付出了巨大的努力来寻找理想的光敏剂。氯乙酮是一种已获得 FDA 批准的第二代光敏剂，它具有 PDT 所需的理想临床特性。它以其产生高活性氧物质（ROS）的能力和对多种癌症的抗癌效力而闻名。亲脂性是 Ce6 的一个主要缺点，导致其在生物体内分布不良且从循环系统中迅速清除。为了克服这一缺点，研究人员设计并制造了几种纳米系统，这些纳米系统可以提高 Ce6 的溶解度，从而提高其生物利用度。这些纳米系统还可以通过被动和主动靶向选择性地针对癌细胞，从而增加 Ce6 在肿瘤中的积累。此外，Ce6 已被用于多种联合治疗，如化疗-光动力治疗、光免疫治疗和联合光动力-光热治疗。联合治疗比单一治疗更具疗效，因为个体治疗的协同作用。基于 Ce6 的纳米系统在各种研究中显示出了联合治疗的优异效果，为癌症治疗提供了一个有前途的平台。
