Zinc phthalocyanine (ZnPc), an effective drug for photodynamic therapy (PDT), generates reactive oxygen species (ROS) to kill cancer cells upon laser irradiation. ZnPc is highly hydrophobic and sparingly soluble in water which poses significant challenges for its specific and targeted cellular delivery. It has been reported that subcellar localization of ZnPc can improve therapeutic efficacy in PDT. However, there have been limited efforts to deliver ZnPc into subcellar localizations. Here, we have developed a liquid crystal NP (LCNP)-based delivery system for encapsulation and targeted delivery of ZnPc to the plasma membrane bilayer. LCNP-encapsulated ZnPc (ZnPc-LCNP) was conjugated to targeting ligands such as PEGylated cholesterol for specific delivery to plasma membrane and mitochondrial membrane. In addition, an organic chromophore perylene (PY) was co-encapsulated with ZnPc in LCNP for the dual purpose of optical tracking and FRET-based generation of ROS <i>via</i> indirect excitation of ZnPC in LCNP. The ability to generate ROS and the therapeutic efficacy of ZnPc-LCNP upon direct or FRET-based excitation in cells will be discussed.

Targeted delivery of zinc phthalocyanine (ZnPc) using liquid crystal nanoparticle for effective photodynamic therapy

254th National Meeting (2017)

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