Red Upconverter Nanocrystals Functionalized with Verteporfin for Photodynamic Therapy Triggered by Upconversion

Miletto, Ivana; Gionco, Chiara; Paganini, Maria Cristina; Cerrato, Erik; Marchese, Leonardo; Gianotti, Enrica

doi:10.3390/ijms23136951

Open AccessArticle

Red Upconverter Nanocrystals Functionalized with Verteporfin for Photodynamic Therapy Triggered by Upconversion

by

Ivana Miletto

^1,*

,

Chiara Gionco

^2,†

,

Maria Cristina Paganini

²

,

Erik Cerrato

^2,†,

Leonardo Marchese

³ and

Enrica Gianotti

^4,*

¹

Dipartimento di Scienze del Farmaco, Università del Piemonte Orientale, Largo Donegani 2/3, 28100 Novara, Italy

²

Dipartimento di Chimica, Università degli Studi di Torino, Via Pietro Giuria 9, 10125 Torino, Italy

³

Dipartimento di Scienze ed Innovazione Tecnologica, Università del Piemonte Orientale, Viale Teresa Michel 11, 15121 Alessandria, Italy

⁴

Dipartimento per la Sostenibilità e la Transizione Ecologica, Università del Piemonte Orientale, Piazza Sant’Eusebio 5, 13100 Vercelli, Italy

^*

Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.

^†

Present address: INRiM—Istituto Nazionale di Ricerca Metrologica, Strada delle Cacce 91, 10135 Torino, Italy.

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2022, 23(13), 6951; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms23136951

Submission received: 31 May 2022 / Revised: 15 June 2022 / Accepted: 21 June 2022 / Published: 22 June 2022

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nano-Materials and Methods 3.0)

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Abstract

Upconversion (UC) nanoparticles characterized by red upconversion emission, particularly interesting for biological applications, have been prepared and subsequently modified by the covalent anchoring of Verteporfin (Ver), an FDA approved photosensitizer (PS) which usually exerts its photodynamic activity upon excitation with red light. ZrO₂ was chosen as the platform where Yb³⁺ and Er³⁺ were inserted as the sensitizer and activator ions, respectively. Careful control of the doping ratio, along with a detailed physico-chemical characterization, was carried out. Upon functionalization with a silica shell to covalently anchor the photosensitizer, a theranostic nanoparticle was obtained whose architecture, thanks to a favorable energy level match and a uniform distribution of the PS, allowed us to trigger the photodynamic activity of Ver by upconversion, thus paving the way to the use of Photodynamic Therapy (PDT) in deep tissues, thanks to the higher penetrating power of NIR light.

Keywords: red upconverter nanoparticles; upconversion; photodynamic therapy; theranostic; optical imaging; core–shell nanoparticles; lanthanide doped nanoparticles

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MDPI and ACS Style

Miletto, I.; Gionco, C.; Paganini, M.C.; Cerrato, E.; Marchese, L.; Gianotti, E. Red Upconverter Nanocrystals Functionalized with Verteporfin for Photodynamic Therapy Triggered by Upconversion. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2022, 23, 6951. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms23136951

AMA Style

Miletto I, Gionco C, Paganini MC, Cerrato E, Marchese L, Gianotti E. Red Upconverter Nanocrystals Functionalized with Verteporfin for Photodynamic Therapy Triggered by Upconversion. International Journal of Molecular Sciences. 2022; 23(13):6951. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms23136951

Chicago/Turabian Style

Miletto, Ivana, Chiara Gionco, Maria Cristina Paganini, Erik Cerrato, Leonardo Marchese, and Enrica Gianotti. 2022. "Red Upconverter Nanocrystals Functionalized with Verteporfin for Photodynamic Therapy Triggered by Upconversion" International Journal of Molecular Sciences 23, no. 13: 6951. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms23136951

APA Style

Miletto, I., Gionco, C., Paganini, M. C., Cerrato, E., Marchese, L., & Gianotti, E. (2022). Red Upconverter Nanocrystals Functionalized with Verteporfin for Photodynamic Therapy Triggered by Upconversion. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 23(13), 6951. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms23136951

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Red Upconverter Nanocrystals Functionalized with Verteporfin for Photodynamic Therapy Triggered by Upconversion

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