Mitochondria-targeted Janus mesoporous nanoplatform for tumor photodynamic therapy

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is an effective treatment method for tumors. But the specifically accumulated of photosensitizer was very difficult in the tumor site, which greatly limited the efficacy of PDT. Here, mitochondria-targeted Janus mesoporous nanoplatform (JPMO-Pt-CTPP-ZnPc) for PDT was prepared, the nanoplatform has uniform size (275 nm) and good dispersion and biocompatibility. The confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) revealed the signal of ZnPc of JPMO-Pt-CTPP-ZnPc were higher than JPMOPt-ZnPc in tumor cells, and flow cytometry results showed the cell uptake efficiency of JPMO-Pt-CTPPZnPc was 2.5-fold higher than that of JPMO-Pt-ZnPc. This revealed the modification of CTPP significantly improves the targeting ability of the nanoplatform. In vitro anti-tumor experiment showed the JPMO-PtCTPP-ZnPc significantly inhibited the growth of tumor cells upon the irradiation of low-power laser, and the survival rate of cells incubated with 60 mu g/mL JPMO-Pt-CTPP-ZnPc was only 3%. Simultaneously, compared with JPMO-Pt-ZnPc (not modified with mitochondria targeting molecules CTPP), the PDT efficacy of JPMO-Pt-CTPP-ZnPc was significantly better, as it has targeted mitochondria in cells.(c) 2023 Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of Chinese Chemical Society and Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences.