Tumor hypoxia will seriously affect the efficacy of photodynamic therapy (PDT). Although some methods for generating oxygen have been researched and developed, their safety issues, uncontrollable time and space, limited effects and complicated procedures have severely limited their practical applications. Researcher Lu Lehui, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, has constructed an integrated organic semiconductor with good biocompatibility, which can solve these problems by using photooxidation catalysis mechanism.
 
The main points of this article: (1) The experiment prepared gram-scale C5N2 nanoparticles (NPs)-based organic semiconductors by one-step method. Under 650 nm laser irradiation, the semiconductor can split water to generate O2 and simultaneously generate singlet oxygen (1O2), indicating that the organic semiconductor can be used as a photocatalyst for generating O2 and a photosensitizer (PS) for generating 1O2 at the same time.
 


(2) In addition, the nuclear targeting capability of the semiconductor enables direct and effective DNA photolysis. In summary, this research provides a new strategy for the development of cancer treatment drugs based on organic semiconductors.
 



Reference: Weihua Chen. et al. An All-in-One Organic Semiconductor for Targeted Photoxidation Catalysis in Hypoxic Tumor. Angewandte Chemie International Edition. 2021DOI: 10.1002/anie.202105206 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ anie.202105206