Near infrared BODIPY-Platinum conjugates for imaging, photodynamic therapy and chemotherapy

Near-infrared (NIR) multifunctional BODIPY-Platinum (BODIPY-Pt) conjugates were synthesized, which compose of fluorescent borondipyrromethene (BODIPY) dyes and therapeutic agents of cisplatin. BODIPY-Pt conjugates combined the NIR imaging, photodynamic therapy (PDT) and chemotherapy in one. BODIPY-Pt possesses the excellent phototoxicity at low concentration upon radiation and comparable chemotherapeutic toxicity with cisplatin. The cellular uptake and distribution were validated by confocal laser scanning microscopy . In addition, the in vivo studies on bearing U14 tumor-bearing mice demonstrated that the BODIPY-Pt conjugates simultaneously keep the fluorescent imaging and antitumor effect.