Evaluation of quantum dots for photodynamic therapy

摘要

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is an emerging therapy for cancer treatment that shows the greater selectivity towards the malignant cells. Semiconductor nanoparticles are a novel class of photosensitizers with properties that are not easily available with conventional PDT reagents. Their potential properties such as improved luminescence, resistance to photobleaching, and the possibility to modify the surface chemically make them suitable candidates for PDT. In this report, we discuss the synthesis of ternary CdSe_(1-x) Te_x nanoparticles along with well known CdSe QDs and their potential in generating the singlet oxygen state by Foerster Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET) to a PDT reagent or by direct triplet-triplet energy transfer to molecular oxygen.