Unlike normal cells, cancer cells mutate to thrive in exaggerated levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS). This potentially makes them more susceptible to small molecule-induced oxidative stress. The intracellular ROS increase in cancer cells is a potential area under investigation for the development of cancer therapeutics targeting cancer cells. Visible photons of 430–490 nm wavelengths from a blue-light emitting diode (BLED) encompass the visible region of the spectrum known to induce ROS in cancer cells. Curcuminoids (CUR) naturally occurring photosensitizers sensitized by the blue wavelength of the visible light, well known for its potent anti-inflammatory and anticancer activity. Poor solubility and bioavailability, of the compound of the small molecule CUR restrict the therapeutic potential and limits CUR to be used as a photosensitizer. Here, our research group reports the use of small molecules CUR, encapsulated in liposome nanocarriers (LIP-CUR) coupled with blue light-emitting diode (BLED) induced photodynamic therapy (BLED-PDT). In A549 cancer cells in vitro, LIP-CUR coupled with BLED initiated BLED-PDT and triggered ¹O₂, ultimately resulting in caspase-3 activated apoptotic cell death. The combination of a non-cytotoxic dose of small molecule CUR co-treated with BLED to trigger BLED-PDT could be translated and be developed as a novel strategy for the treatment of cancer.

与正常细胞不同，癌细胞会在活性氧（ROS）含量过高的情况下发生突变而生长。这可能使它们更容易受到小分子诱导的氧化应激的影响。癌细胞中细胞内ROS的增加是针对靶向癌细胞的癌症治疗药物开发中潜在的研究领域。来自蓝光发光二极管（BLED）的430–490 nm波长的可见光子包含已知可在癌细胞中诱导ROS的光谱的可见区域。姜黄素（CUR）自然产生的光敏剂被可见光的蓝色波长敏化，以其强大的抗炎和抗癌活性而闻名。小分子CUR的化合物的低溶解度和生物利用度限制了治疗潜力并且限制了CUR用作光敏剂。在这里，我们的研究小组报告了使用小分子CUR封装在脂质体纳米载体（LIP-CUR）中，并结合了蓝色发光二极管（BLED）诱导的光动力疗法（BLED-PDT）。在A549癌细胞中在体外，LIP-CUR结合BLED引发BLED-PDT并触发¹ O ₂，最终导致caspase-3激活的凋亡细胞死亡。与BLED共同治疗以触发BLED-PDT的无细胞毒性剂量的小分子CUR的组合可以被翻译并被开发为治疗癌症的新策略。