LAUSR

The development of smart supramolecular self-assemblies for photodynamic therapy (PDT) and organelle-targeting cell imaging has become a hot topic of research due to their rapid and intelligent responses. Herein, we report a novel ternary supramolecular assembly of nanoparticles, composed specifically of photosensitizer molecules 4,4'-(dibenzo[a,c]phenazine-9,14-diyl)pyridin-1-ium bromide (DPAC-S) and cucurbit[7]uril (CB[7]) co-assembled with bis[2,4,5-trichloro-6-(pentyloxycarbonyl)phenyl]oxalate (CPPO). Overexpressed hydrogen peroxide in tumor cells was used to rapidly stimulate these nanoparticles to produce chemiluminescence and simultaneously sensitize oxygen molecules to singlet oxygen (1O2) for in situ PDT. A cell imaging experiment further confirmed the ability of the nanoparticle assembly to effectively target mitochondria, a feature beneficial for enhancing PDT.