A photoactivatable antibody–Chlorin e6 conjugate enabling singlet oxygen production for tumor-targeting photodynamic therapy

Abstract Photodynamic therapy is a new technology for disease diagnosis and treatment in modern medical clinics. The main advantages of photodynamic therapy are low toxicity and side effects, a wide range of applications, no drug resistance, and no obvious trauma in the treatment process. However, to achieve effective photodynamic therapy, new photosensitizer carriers need to be constructed, which can selectively deliver photosensitizers into tumor tissues. In this work, a photoactivatable antibody–Chlorin e6 conjugate with a dual-function to target tumor tissue and realize cancer photodynamic therapy is constructed. Both in vitro and in vivo experiments indicate that the antibody–Chlorin e6 conjugate has the ability to target tumors rapidly and efficiently, and has the ability to generate reactive oxygen species and kill tumor cells. Overall, this photoactivable antibody–Chlorin e6 conjugate may provide a promising strategy to address the current challenges of cancer photodynamic therapy.