Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is an effective, noninvasive and nontoxic therapeutics for cancer and some other diseases. It is becoming a alternative of traditional therapeutics for cancers. But the efficacy of PDT was restricted by insufficient selectivity and low solubility. In this study, novel multifunctional silica-based magnetic nanoparticles were prepared as targeting drug delivery system to achieve higher specificity and better solubility. Haematoporphyrin derivative (photosan) was used as photosensitizer. Magnetite nanoparticles (Fe3O4) and photosan were incorporated in silica nanoparticles by microemulsion and sol-gel methods. The prepared nanoparticles were characterized by X-ray diffraction, and transmission electron microscopy. The nanoparticles possessed good biocompatibility and could cause remarkable photodynamic anti-tumor effects. These suggested that photosan-Fe3O4 nanoparticles had great potential as effective drug delivery system in targeting photodynamic therapy.
Enhanced effect of photodynamic therapy in ovarian cancer using a nanoparticle drug delivery system
