LAUSR

We designed and synthesized two heptamethine cyanine‐based theranostic probes that aimed to target COX‐2 in cancer cells. One is I‐IR799‐CXB, in which I‐IR799 is conjugated to the COX‐2‐specific inhibitor, celecoxib, and another is I‐IR799‐IMC, where the non‐selective COX inhibitor, indomethacin, was used. I‐IR799 is a heptamethine cyanine derivative that can be activated by near‐infrared light for photodynamic therapy (PDT) purposes. I‐IR799‐CXB and I‐IR799‐IMC were tested for their cancer‐targeting capacity and photodynamic efficiency toward hepatocellular carcinoma (HepG2) cells relative to normal liver cells, alpha mouse liver 12 (AML12) cells. Interestingly, after conjugation, I‐IR799‐IMC exhibited better tumour targetability and PDT efficiency than I‐IR799‐CXB.