Encapsulation of glycosylated porphyrins in silica nanoparticles to enhance efficacy of cancer photodynamic therapy

In this study, we encapsulated S-galactosylated and S-glucosylated porphyrins (Pors) into amorphous silica nanoparticles (SNPs) to enhance the photodynamic therapy (PDT) activity. The resulting galacto- and gluco-nanoformulations were demonstrated to be spherical in shape with diameters of 197.3 ± 29.0 nm and 128.3 ± 22.2 nm. The galacto- and gluco-nanoparticles (NPs) were able to produce a high amount of singlet oxygen (1O2) and were stable under the conditions of the experiments. In vitro studies show that the nanoformulations were effectively taken up by the human bladder cancer cell lines HT-1376 and UM-UC-3. The PDT results show that these photoactive nanoformulations are 3 to 5 times more efficient than the non-encapsulated/free Pors. These Por–silica nanoformulations could be successfully used as novel nanocarriers for the delivery of photosensitizer materials for cancer PDT.