Photothermal-driven disassembly of naphthalocyanine nano-photosensitizers for photothermal and photodynamic therapy

The disassembly of nanomaterials is of particular interest for high-quality imaging and targeted therapies in the field of nanomedicine. In this study, we developed a novel strategy for fabricating self-assembled naphthalocyanine photosensitizers ( [email protected] ) with intrinsically unique photochemical and photophysical properties. [email protected] could be disassembled under the photothermal effect, and its photoactivity could be enhanced by 780 nm laser irradiation. Moreover, [email protected] generates reactive oxygen species, including superoxide radicals (O 2 • – ) and singlet oxygen ( 1 O 2 ), as well as good photothermal properties, facilitating the application of multifunctional phototherapy. In vitro evaluation indicated that [email protected] possesses an excellent bactericidal effect under a combination of photodynamic (PDT) and photothermal therapy (PTT). The in vivo treatment of a full-layer skin defect model of Escherichia coli ( E. coli ) infection showed that [email protected] had superior antibacterial and wound-healing abilities. These results provide the basis for a feasible strategy to enhance the phototherapeutic effect of photosensitizer (PS) systems.