Microporous organic network nanoparticles for dual chemo-photodynamic cancer therapy

This work shows that microporous organic network (MON) chemistry can be applied to the dual photodynamic and chemical therapy of cancer cells. Water-compatible and Zn-phthalocyanine (ZnPhT) loaded MON nanoparticles were engineered through size-controlled synthesis using poly(vinylpyrrolidone) (PVP) as a surfactant, followed by postsynthetic sulfonation of materials. The ZnPhT was successfully loaded on the sulfonated MON nanoparticles (N-SMONs) via coulombic interaction between anionic sulfonate and cationic ZnPhT. Because of their microporosity and high surface area, DOX was loaded efficiently on the ZnPhT/N-SMON nanoparticles. The resultant DOX/ZnPhT/N-SMON showed synergistic performance in the dual photodynamic and chemotherapy of cancer cells and tumors in in vitro and in vivo tests.