Semiconducting polymer dots with photosensitizer loading and peptide modification for enhanced cell penetration and photodynamic effect

This letter describes semiconducting polymer dots (Pdots) doped with a photosensitizer and modified with a cell penetrating peptide for photodynamic therapy (PDT). The resulting Pdots exhibited efficient singlet oxygen (102) generation mediated by intraparticle energy transfer. Experimental results indicated that the peptide-coated Pdots could promote the cellular uptake and increase the penetration efficiency in vitro, and effectively suppressed tumor growth and enhanced the photodynamic effect in vivo. Our results demonstrate that Pdots with photosensitizer loading and peptide modification hold great promise for cancer therapy. (C) 2017 Chinese Chemical Society and Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.