Cyclometalated iridium(III) complex nanoparticles for mitochondria-targeted photodynamic therapy

Huan Lu; Xinpeng Jiang; Yanyan Chen; Ke Peng; Yiming Huang; Hao Zhao; Qi Chen; Fengting Lv; Libing Liu; Shu Wang; Yuguo Ma

doi:10.1039/D0NR03398G

Cyclometalated iridium(iii) complex nanoparticles for mitochondria-targeted photodynamic therapy†

Huan Lu,^a Xinpeng Jiang,^a Yanyan Chen,^b Ke Peng,^b Yiming Huang,^b Hao Zhao,^b Qi Chen,^a Fengting Lv,

*^b Libing Liu,

^b Shu Wang

*^b and Yuguo Ma

*^a

Author affiliations

* Corresponding authors

^a Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, Center for Soft Matter Science and Engineering, Key Lab of Polymer Chemistry and Physics of the Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry, Peking University, Beijing, P. R. China
E-mail: ygma@pku.edu.cn

^b Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, Key Laboratory of Organic Solids, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, P. R. China
E-mail: wangshu@iccas.ac.cn, lvft@iccas.ac.cn

Abstract

Cyclometalated Ir(III) complexes, with a long triplet state lifetime and good photophysical properties, are good candidates for simultaneous imaging and photodynamic therapy (PDT). Herein, we synthesize a cyclometalated Ir(III) complex, Ir(tiq)₂ppy, whose triplet excited state lifetime is 2.9 μs and singlet oxygen generation quantum yield is approximately 100% (compared to tetraphenylporphyrin). Ir(tiq)₂ppy nanoparticles (Ir(tiq)₂ppy NPs) are prepared to achieve water solubility and mitochondria-targeting ability by co-precipitating with polystyrene grafted with carboxyl-terminated poly(ethylene glycol) (PS-PEG). Ir(tiq)₂ppy NPs have higher PDT efficiency than Ir(tiq)₂ppy at concentrations as low as 1.6 μg mL⁻¹ for MCF-7 breast cancer cells under white light irradiation at quite low light intensity (5 mW cm⁻²). Besides, it is worth noting that the emission quenching of Ir(tiq)₂ppy in aqueous solution has been conquered by using Ir(tiq)₂ppy NPs, thus the distribution of the therapeutic agents in mitochondria can be tracked by confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM). The mechanism of killing cancer cells under irradiation is investigated, and the results indicate that cell death is caused by mitochondria-mediated apoptosis, which is induced by the ROS generated under light irradiation.

Nanoscale

Cyclometalated iridium(iii) complex nanoparticles for mitochondria-targeted photodynamic therapy†

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Cyclometalated iridium(III) complex nanoparticles for mitochondria-targeted photodynamic therapy

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