Two-Photon Excited FRET Dyads for Lysosome-Targeted Imaging and Photodynamic Therapy

Abstract

Two-photon excitable fluorescent dyes with integrated functions of targeted imaging and photodynamic therapy (PDT) are highly desired for the development of cancer theranostic agents. Herein, fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) dyads, AceDAN-H₂Por-Lyso (1a) and AceDAN-ZnPor-Lyso (1b), were developed for two-photon excited (TPE) lysosome-targeted fluorescence imaging and PDT of cancer cells. Under one-photon or two-photon excitation, the AceDAN donor can effectively transfer the excited state energy to the porphyrin acceptor via high efficient FRET, leading to the generation of deep-red fluorescence and singlet oxygen for cell imaging and PDT, respectively. 1a and 1b exhibit high photocytotoxicity and low dark cytotoxicity, in addition to strong lysosomal targeting capability in living cells. By taking the advantages of the two-photon absorption properties of the AceDAN donor and the properly distributed S₁ and T₁ states of the porphyrin acceptor, the AceDAN-porphyrin dyads 1a and 1b have been successfully applied to TPE-fluorescence imaging for tracking the significant morphology changes of cancer cells under two-photon laser irradiation.