AUTHOR=Li Honghui , Huang Mao , Wei Zixuan , He Jiawen , Ma Yunong , Lu Cuixia , Jin Albert , Wang Zhixiong , Wen Liewei 

TITLE=Hydrogen sulfide activatable metal-organic frameworks for Fluorescence Imaging-Guided Photodynamic Therapy of colorectal cancer

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology

VOLUME=10

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/bioengineering-and-biotechnology/articles/10.3389/fbioe.2022.1032571

DOI=10.3389/fbioe.2022.1032571

ISSN=2296-4185

ABSTRACT=<p>Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a promising alternative and palliative therapeutic strategy for colorectal cancer (CRC). A novel photosensitizer with higher selectivity for CRC and fewer side effects is vital for clinical application. Given that the overexpression of hydrogen sulfide (H<sub>2</sub>S) in CRC, it is expected to provide a selective stimulus for activatable photosensitizers that in respond to the specific microenvironment. Herein, we report a novel development of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) composed of meso-Tetra (4-carboxyphenyl) porphine (TCPP) and ferric ion (Fe<sup>3+</sup>) through a facile one-pot process. Experiments both <italic>in vitro</italic> and <italic>in vivo</italic> reveal that the MOF is capable of depredating in response to the high content of H<sub>2</sub>S in tumor microenvironment of CRC. Accompanying with the degradation and release of TCPP, the fluorescence and photosensitivity effect is switched from “off” to “on”, enabling the MOF to serve as a H<sub>2</sub>S activatable nano-photosensitizer for real-time fluorescence imaging-guided and targeted PDT of CRC.</p>