Mesoporous silica nanoparticles-based nanoplatforms for photodynamic therapy

Highly efficient nanoplatforms for photodynamic therapy were obtained by covalent conjugation of verteporfin (Ver) and Rose Bengal (RB) within mesoporous silica nanoparticles. Hosting of the photosensitizers (PS) into mesoporous silica nanoparticles allowed overcoming their specific limitations, such as hydrophobicity of Ver, which causes its aggregation in aqueous media, and hydrophilicity of RB, which limits their uptake by target cells. PS loading, dispersion and efficiency in the photoproduction and delivery of singlet oxygen (1O2) were carefully evaluated. In vitro tests have evidenced that the optimized nanoplatforms are able to largely reduce the proliferation of different cell lines, including in the high malignancy melanoma cellular model (SK-MEL-28).