Organic small molecular nanoparticles based on self-assembly of amphiphilic fluoroporphyrins for photodynamic and photothermal synergistic cancer therapy.

Two new porphyrin-based organic compounds (Por and ZnPor) were synthesized by introducing hydrophilic polyethylene glycol chains and pentafluorobenzene moieties onto the parent porphyrin structure. After self-assembling into nanoparticles, the absorption spectrum of (Zn)Por NPs broadened and red-shifted to some extent, relative to that of organic molecules. Meanwhile, the fluorescence of organic molecule nanoparticles was quenched significantly, which facilitated the nonradiative thermal generation for potential applications in photothermal cancer therapy. Por NPs and ZnPor NPs presented spherical structure with average diameter about 100 nm, endowing them with tumor targeting properties based on the enhanced permeability and retention (EPR) effect. Due to the heavy atom effect, ZnPor NPs presented the higher efficiency of ROS generation than that of Por NPs. In contrast, Por NPs exhibited the better photothermal effect relative to that of ZnPor NPs under irradiation of a 635-nm laser. The photothermal conversion efficiency of Por NPs was calculated to be 16.34%. The in vitro experiments suggested that Por NPs and ZnPor NPs could enter tumor cells efficiently with good biocompatibility and exhibited high photocytotoxicity with IC50 of 7.3 μg/mL and 3.0 μg/mL, respectively. Thus, the as-prepared porphyrin nanomaterials can be used as potential photosensitizers for cancer photodynamic/photothermal synergistic therapy in vivo, benefiting from their good biocompatibility, strong near-infrared absorption, and high photodynamic and photothermal effects.