Fullerene-porphyrin nanostructures in photodynamic therapy

Abstract

Photodynamic therapy represents an alternative treatment with great potential in some types of cancer and premalignant conditions. In the quest to improve this therapy, potential new nontetrapyrrole photosensitizers are currently under research. Hence, in the last few years fullerenes attracted an increased interest because they prove characteristics for nanotechnology's biomedical applications. Fullerenes derivatization for biology application in general and in particular for photodynamic therapy, led to the idea of their association with porphyrins. Porphyrins, well-known players in this domain, could form in association with fullerenes, new compounds with unique properties, namely new photosensitizers with enhanced efficiency in terms of singlet oxygen generation and tumor cell penetration. This article is an attempt to underscore the enormous effort currently dedicated to an emerging field represented by these new nanostructures for biomedicine and in particular for photodynamic therapy.