Phototheranostics, which simultaneously combines photodynamic and/or photothermal therapy with deep-tissue diagnostic imaging, is a promising strategy for the diagnosis and treatment of cancers. Organic dyes with the merits of strong near-infrared absorbance, high photo-to-radical and/or photothermal conversion efficiency, great biocompatibility, ready chemical structure fine-tuning capability, and easy metabolism, have been demonstrated as attractive candidates for clinical phototheranostics. These organic dyes can be further designed and fabricated into nanoparticles (NPs) using various strategies. Compared to free molecules, these NPs can be equipped with multiple synergistic functions and show longer lifetime in blood circulation and passive tumor-targeting property via the enhanced permeability and retention effect. In this article, the recent progress of organic dye-based NPs for cancer phototheranostic applications is summarized, which extends the anticancer arsenal and holds promise for clinical uses in the near future.
Keywords: imaging; nanoparticles; organic dyes; phototheranostics; phototherapy.
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