Harnessing croconaine organic photosensitizers for a milder surface-mediated transfection

• Main Authors: Ferdinandus, Tan, Lenice Wen Ling, Tan, Jie Ren, Lee, Hiang Kwee, Zhu, Qiang, Ye, Enyi, Lee, Ken Chi-Lik
• Other Authors: School of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: 2024
• Subjects: Chemistry; Organic photosensitizer; Photothermal
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/179529
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Polydopamine-based materials, notably Polydopamine-polyethyleneimine (PDA-PEI), have gained considerable interest for surface-mediated transfection. However, the high laser power density required to achieve high transfection efficiency poses a significant challenge in preserving cell viability. An organic photosensitizer CRO32TMI was developed to improve the photothermal conversion capability of PDA-PEI. The modified PDA-PEI-CRO32TMI exhibited remarkable photothermal and photostability properties upon NIR irradiation, enabling it to achieve better transfection efficiency at lower laser power density as compared to the traditional solution or lipid-based transfection methods.